Open Y opens doors downtown for free youth program

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This article was published 23/07/2024 (417 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A downtown gym will soon have more players pounding the hardwood and shooting hoops.

YWinnipeg and the City of Winnipeg announced a partnership Tuesday to provide recreation space and programs for young people downtown.

“The need for a facility like this has been greater today than it has ever been,” Mayor Scott Gillingham said during a news conference.

He said the downtown YMCA-YWCA has grown to become the community centre for the inner city, and that it’s perfectly placed to continue providing the services and space needed.

The new youth community access program, named Open Y, will be available for youth ages 13 to 17, free of charge and without the need for a membership. The program kicked off Tuesday night at the facility on 301 Vaughan St. and runs Monday through Friday from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. until the end of August. In September, the program will be offered Friday nights.

Programming will include sports like basketball and soccer, along with leadership development, family nights, and drop-ins.

Gillingham said Open Y is fundamental to the city’s wider goal to reduce youth crime.

“A lot of times, if you’re with a positive friend group, then you can be making better decisions,” Gillingham said, adding the program can be a preventative, proactive step in steering at-risk youth towards a positive path.

In 2023, there were 2,054 instances of youth crime, as per the Winnipeg Police Service annual report. Winnipeg’s youth crime rate increased by 23 per cent compared to 2022.

The city has provided a $150,000 grant to operate OpenY and pay for 100 memberships through the YWinnipeg’s Strong Kids program.

“Open Y is about giving youth a space where they feel safe and welcomed, a place where they can explore everything ‘the Y’ has to offer and a place where they find a sense of community,” said Cordella Friesen, YWinnipeg president and CEO.

The downtown Y unveiled plans in 2023 for a $15-million expansion, including additional child-care spaces and an indoor splash pad.

Community leader Sel Burrows said while it’s a “fantastic idea,” the city still needs to do more to provide safe recreation and community spaces if it wants to reduce youth crime.

“The reality is that it’s the city’s responsibility to provide recreation facilities for youth,” Burrows said, adding the inner city is in desperate need of positive spaces and activities for young people.

Burrows called the city’s grant “a joke” when compared to the $126 million that’s been set aside to build the South Winnipeg Recreation Campus project on Bison Drive.

“You cannot separate life from the inner city and the suburbs,” said Burrows. “We are desperate for the same level of facilities as the rest of the city.”

matthew.frank@freepress.mb.ca