City of Charlotte partners with YMCA to offer free memberships for 200 teens

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Youth crime tends to increase during the summer months. Charlotte leaders are working with the YMCA of Greater Charlotte to try to keep the number low this year.

About 200 teens ages 13 to 18 are getting a free membership at the YMCA.

“We need more initiatives like this that invest in our youth where they have a positive environment, where they have positive role models, where it’s safe, where it’s welcoming, where they feel like they belong,” said Charlotte City Councilwoman Dimple Ajmera.

Charlotte City Council members hope the “Y” will be that place for teens. The city put almost $24,000 into the program to give hundreds of kids memberships to the various YMCA locations across Charlotte at no cost.

“That kid knows that this YMCA is here for me,” said Jemarion Young, the YMCA’s vice president of teen experience. “I can show up at that Y. I can be myself at that Y. I might make a mistake and my Y is going to be there to support me.”

They can come any time and any day it’s open. Thirty-four of the 200 teens come to the Keith Family location in north Charlotte to splash around in the water park, swim in the pool, shoot hoops and more.

It’s not just about the activities. It’s about the relationships formed.

“Kids just want and deserve a loving, attentive adult in their lives and they’re going to find that in these spaces,” said Young.

Beyond keeping kids active and healthy, YMCA leaders also recognize the importance of keeping them out of trouble.

“In the summertime we do see an uptick in crime and youth on youth crime, but this is an opportunity for us to be disrupters in that space, for us to provide positive outlets for youth to be able to be engaged in,” said Young.

This program will run through the end of this year. Leaders hope they’ll be able to offer something similar to kids next year.