YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago

Founded in 1858, the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) of Metropolitan Chicago seeks to develop strong children, families and communities across the region through academic readiness, character development, violence prevention, fitness, and healthy living. The Youth Safety and Violence Prevention Program of the YMCA works with Chicago youth who have risk factors for involvement in violence. Through programs designed especially for youth who have experienced trauma, the YMCA helps youth to develop coping skills that enable them to avoid committing or becoming a victim of violence. This institutional support award to the Youth Safety and Violence Prevention Program enables it to engage in strategic planning and staff development as it scales up the volume and scope of its services, and evaluates their success.

In collaboration with the Adler School of Professional Psychology, the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago launched the Urban Warriors program in 2014 to connect youth with extreme exposure to violence with veterans from the same community who recently returned from combat service. The mentorship program develops relationships between the two groups and builds coping mechanisms and understanding for youth suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, learning from adults in similar communities who have experienced the same challenges. The grant will support expansion of the pilot program in identified communities, strengthen the program’s framework, and lay the groundwork to test its outcomes and impact.

To strengthen community development and community building in four Chicago neighborhoods (over two years).

To support the annual campaign.

To support program development for the Duncan YMCA Children's Arts and Education Center.