How could two YMCA facilities not all that far from one another have differing policies when it comes to extending discount family membership rates to same-sex families?
This question comes in the wake of recent news that suburban Yorkville's city council is split regarding if taxpayer money should be spent constructing a YMCA pool. The conflict exists because the community branch's current policy doesn't extend discount family membership rates to same-sex families. The Fox Valley Times recently reported that at least four Yorkville alderman have expressed reservations with spending between $2 million and $6 million constructing a Yorkville YMCA pool while the Fox Valley Family YMCA does not extend family memberships to lesbians and gays.
Fox Valley Family YMCA currently has branches in Plano and Sandwich. Meanwhile, Heritage YMCA, which has locations in Aurora, Naperville and Oswego, has a different, gay-friendly policy. The Yorkville location wouldn't be far from these gay-friendly locations.
YMCA of the USA treats community branches as independently governed agencies that have final say in policy changes, said YMCA of the USA Media Relations Manager Leah Pouw. Each YMCA creates its own policies regarding family membership discounts, she said, adding that each independent YMCA might even have its own procedures when it comes to changing a policy. Pouw was unsure how many YMCA affiliates have extended their family membership rates to same-sex families. There are currently 2,663 YMCAs in the United States.
According to We Are Family Too, an organization for same-sex family inclusion, a number of YMCAs extend their family rates to families headed by lesbians and gays, including locations in California, New York, Maryland, Georgia and Indiana. There are YMCA facilities that also host events specifically for the LGBT community.
A Fargo, N.D., YMCA changed its policy after a three-year discussion following a lesbian couple's request. In a 2002 New Hampshire case, a local YMCA agreed to revisit its policy and extend a family membership to a lesbian couple and their family who were previously denied a family rate.
The local Heritage YMCA is another example. It has had a gay-friendly policy in place for 10 years.
'We've had quite a change of guards' over the years, said Heritage YMCA Director of Marketing and Communications DeeDee McDevitt. She said no specific event or outcry caused the change 'other than going back to our mission, making sure we embrace all folks. That's our position as we move forward.'
According to McDevitt, same-sex couples aren't the only ones who benefit from a YMCA being aware of the multiple definitions of 'family.'
'How about a grandfather and a son who lost his wife?' she asked. 'That's a family to us. There's not one definition of the word 'family.''
Heritage YMCA does not track how many same-sex families utilize the policy. First of all, Heritage only asks for the name of the head of the household. Secondly, ' [ i ] t doesn't matter,' McDevitt said.
Heritage YMCA policy now extends family memberships to two adults who live in the same house. The policy can save a lesbian or gay couple $200 or more per year, compared to Fox Valley Family YMCA locations.
McDevitt said she isn't concerned that people might take advantage of such a policy. 'We're here to serve them when they come in the door, and make them feel welcome and comfortable.'
Fox Valley Family YMCA, which would be in charge of the Yorkville facility, does not extend family memberships to gay and lesbian families. The Fox Valley Family YMCA Executive Director AB told Windy City Times that he doesn't recall receiving any formal requests to change the policy, but encourages people to speak up if they are concerned. He said that if it is an issue to community members, he asks that they share their thoughts in a letter to him.
Requests regarding policy changes would then to go the membership committee, which would decide to take it to the board of directors. The board's job is to create and change the policy, and the staff is charged with enforcing it, he said.
'We try to consider all the requests of members at the time they are brought up,' he said.
On two occasions in the past five years, the membership committee and board of directors looked into the family membership definition. However, he said he is unsure of the reason for the request to revisit the policy. 'It could have been a boyfriend and a girlfriend … or a divorced couple with children,' he said. 'I don't recall.'
'We're comfortable with keeping [ the policy ] this way' he said. He is concerned that two roommates could take advantage of same-sex family discount rates, and thinks the current policy is more 'financially sound.'
According to him, there are gay staff members at the Fox Valley Family YMCA, as well as deeply religious staff members who support the current policy. Although his main concern is finding out if taxpayers want their money spent on a new pool, he said, he welcomes the discussion, even though he thinks the aldermen were unaware of the policy until a local reporter pointed it out to them.
'I think it's good to bring this to people's attention,' he said. 'When it comes to same-sex marriages, I'm all for it on a personal level, but I work at the Y,' he continued. 'My job is to enforce the policies that are in place.'
He said that if it is an issue, people have the ability to make a request to him.
YMCA of the USA recognizes that the tide is changing. In 2002, YMCA of the USA formed SPEAK ( Serving People with Equality, Acceptance and Kindness ) , a diversity group to address its employees' LGBTQ-related issues. The group educates national and local staff about LGBTQ issues.
There is also YMCA GLBT, an affinity group for YMCA professionals and volunteers. Its mission is to 'change the current Y culture from 'tolerance' to respect based on knowledge,' per its Web site. The group organized in 2006.
The two Yorkville aldermen who have said they definitely do not support building a YMCA that doesn't offer discounts to same-sex families, Wally Werderich and Joseph Plocher, did not respond to requests for comment before deadline.
