In 2014, the YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In restructuring, the Y looked at where it wants to be in the future. Milwaukee native Carrie Wall returned after 33 years to guide the organization as its president and CEO. She accepted to talk to Off the Cuff about it.
Where is the YMCA of Metropolitan Milwaukee headed?
People think of us as “gym and swim.” And that might be what it looks like Downtown, but the YMCA is an important part of the fabric of our community, of meeting people where they are and fulfilling their health needs. Our three areas going forward are Youth Development, Healthy Living and Social Responsibility.
Can you explain the importance of the Youth Development component?
If at-risk youth don’t have high quality early childhood educational experiences, they are 60% less likely to attend college. The first three years are critical for brain development. We plan to serve children starting from age zero. We partner with other organizations like Wisconsin Shares in this effort. Our part is getting children ready for kindergarten and supporting the families of these children, who need to work.
I am a product of this Y. The support that I got for my children in the out-of-school time was what I needed to work and continue my career. They got that healthy out-of-school time that every child deserves. The YMCA helps make it affordable and accessible to all.
And this ties in with the area of Healthy Living?
For 160 years, the Y has been involved with health and wellness. We now realize we need to go deeper into preventive health—faster than the health care industry. We are moving into evidence-based health integration programs. An example is fall prevention. With the growing aging population, every 14 seconds someone is treated for a fall. They are treated in the emergency room for falls. We are partnering with health care to offer programs like Moving for Better Balance, which is Tai Chi-based and hand fitness. These are evidence-based, and they serve a community need. We partnered with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the National Institute for Health and the Centers for Disease Control to bundle programs to strengthen the aging market. We are stepping deeper into this area because this is a huge community need.
And in a broader sense, all this encompasses the idea of Social Responsibility?
The majority of our programs are off-site. Most people think of the YMCA buildings, but that is just one of our tools. Because we see the parents every day, we see the needs of the entire family. That helps us design other programs and activities. We are focused on making sure we continue with the achievement opportunities. We partner with schools, families and the work force.
We believe we are part of the solution to the disparities in society. We include all, especially those who need us most, by partnering with community leaders and organizations; as a collective, we have stronger bonds.
In November of 2018, the website 247wallstt.com listed Milwaukee as the second worst city for black Americans. That is unacceptable. What is our role in dealing with racial tensions in our community? We need to be that bridge between faith leaders, community leaders and corporate leaders. We first need to look at ourselves. Does our board, does our staff resemble the community we serve? That is a priority of our new Social Responsibility committee. We need to have the right people at the table in the conversation.
