File photo
File photo
Several YMCAs will be permanently closing due to COVID-19 pandemic-related financial issues.
The Daily Herald reported locations in Naperville, Des Plaines and Niles closed, which leaves 14 remaining locations in the region.
"The overwhelming stress that the coronavirus pandemic has put on the global economy has also put an enormous strain on our organization," Richard Malone, president and CEO of YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago, said. "We've reached the point where we are no longer able to sustain these centers during and after the pandemic."
But the pandemic wasn't the start of financial issues in the YMCA locations. All three locations had been financially suffering for several years, with memberships decreasing and fewer people signing up for programs, the Daily Herald reported.
Dutch DeGroot, a Mount Prospect resident and member of a closing YMCA location, told the Daily Herald he visited every day.
"People there have been going for decades," DeGroot told the Daily Herald. "It's just a social icon. It's very hard to take. I probably have 100 friends from there and I'm just texting everyone about it."
DeGroot said he felt bad for employees of the closing facilities, saying they were always dedicated. But he acknowledged that management didn't properly care for the facilities.
"The demographics in Mount Prospect have changed," DeGroot said. "There are so many more young couples, so much potential to recruit all these young people, but they didn't take advantage of it."
While any current YMCA members are being offered complimentary memberships to other locations in the area, DeGroot doesn't think he or many others would be taking up the offer. Other individuals who had signed up for a program will be receiving a refund.
"I just feel bad, I don't know what I'll do with my time now," DeGroot said.
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