YMCA Refers Concerns to FAQ
YMCA of Moose Jaw’s flagship Fairford Street location - MJ Independent File Photo
After the announced closure of the YMCA of Moose Jaw after 114 years last week MJ Independent has received a large nujmber of letters with questions and concerns regarding the impact of the closure on various Y programs.
To assist our readers we sent over one of the letters we received to the Y to see if we could help answer the questions and concerns raised.
One letter we received involved the Before And After School Program (BASP) and what was the program’s ultimate fate and in what form it might continue in. We forwarded the letter to the Y and received a response.
In a written response the Y referred those with questions and concerns to the YMCA of Moose Jaw’s website where they have a Frequently Asked Questions section to help answer questions and concerns.
“We are responding to frequently asked questions on our website - as mentioned at the meeting Tuesday passed, this is where the most accurate information will be posted - thank you for passing these ones on to me,” acting CEO Diana Deakin-Thomas responded via e-mail.
In the FAQ there is a Secton Seven where the YMCA indicates they are working on finalizing what is happening with Before and After School Care.
In the letter sent to MJ Independent a concerned parent voiced concerns about what was happening with BASP and in what form it will continue.
“-Need to know what the plan is before end of June in order to get the school buses lined up or it will take 2-4 weeks to get the kids on the bus in September. That also means the 50+ families need to find reliable daycare in that time too which is not easy in this town.
-What about the summer day camps? Will there be any next year? Numerous home daycares close over the summer so lots of families depend on those camps.
-No longer transporting the kids to and from school even if they are attending the licensed facility. So drop them off at daycare then go back to take them to school, go back to work and then do it again after school? Employers will not allow that. Besides the licensed facilities are rumoured to all be full for school age spots. What are the numbers? How many of these 50+ kids will be accepted? Doesn’t that also mean hiring more staff to accommodate more kids?” were some of the concerns raised.
We will do our best to help keep people updated on this story.