Category: Blog

In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month in May, the YMCA of Greater Erie is encouraging community members to care for themselves and others.

Mental health is how we think, feel and act. At the Y, we recognize that we all have mental health, and mental health is an important part of our overall health and social-emotional well-being, as well as a core component of our identity.

The Y supports the mental health of individuals and communities in all the work we do to help people reach their full potential—whether that’s teaching life skills to youth in our summer camps, supporting our staff, helping people achieve their best physical health or helping newcomer immigrants access services. This type of non-clinical support is called “community care” and includes:

• Understanding mental health as something we all have—it is how we think, feel, and act.
• Applying positive self-care practices routinely.
• Engaging in conversations in a genuine way, with empathy and the intent of building meaningful relationships.
• Understanding and applying trauma-informed guiding principles when interacting with others.
• Understanding the impact of social determinants of health, systemic racism, discrimination and marginalization on mental health.
• Modeling emotion regulation, co-regulation, and effective coping skills.
• Recognizing signs that someone may be struggling.
• Connecting individuals to primary and specialty support when needed.
• Providing initial response in crisis situations.
• Initiating dialogue and collaborating with others to embed mental health informal care support throughout the community.

All the above are informed by practices found in social-emotional learning, trauma-informed care and suicide prevention. Through this work, we can reduce the risk and impact of mental illness, provide early intervention, and support the process of healing and recovery. We also provide a critical bridge to formal mental health care providers when needed.

Everyone can play a role in mental health community care. In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, the Y encourages you to identify simple ways you can care for yourself and others, such as:

• Using your powers of observation to notice when someone may be struggling with a hard day, moment or situation.
• Intentionally asking “how are you?” and encouraging honest answers so others can share and feel heard.
• Bringing empathy, compassion and kindness to your daily interactions.
• When you notice someone struggling, connecting them to mental health resources like the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (800-273-8255 or https://suicidepreventionlifeline.org).

April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. As part of our commitment to protecting the children in our community, we’re participating in the Five Days of Action – a week-long campaign to increase awareness of child sexual abuse and empower and equip us all to prevent it. By taking part in this important campaign and implementing abuse prevention practices year-round, the YMCA of Greater Erie is committing to the safety of all children in our community.

The Know. See. Respond. campaign is back this year, and Childhelp, Common Sense Media, and Committee for Children have shared resources to support this campaign.

Know

KNOWing the facts about child sexual abuse can help adults better understand what to look for and how to prevent it. As parents, caregivers, and trusted adults to the young people in our lives, we play an important role in protecting them from abuse. Learn more about the different types of abuse, the signs and how you can help at childhelphotline.org.

See

Media and technology are at the center of children’s lives every day. With more of life happening online, what catches their attention isn’t always what’s best for them. As a parent or caregiver, you may SEE a child interacting with media daily, and you can be equipped with the tools and resources to make sure any environment (including online) is free from any abuse. Learn more at commonsensemedia.org/articles/online-safety.

Respond

How can you RESPOND to the call to help prevent child sexual abuse? As a parent or caregiver, you may know it’s important to talk about it, but you may not know what or when to say it. Committee for Children has created the Hot Chocolate Talk campaign, packing decades of research into easy-to-use guides to help you begin these crucial conversations – at any age, from toddler to teen. Visit cfchildren.org/resources/child-abuse-prevention/ to learn more and empower your child to report and refuse sexual abuse.

We take our commitment to child protection seriously and we hope you do too.

On March 29, 1999, the County YMCA in Edinboro opened its doors with the goal of putting Christian principles into practice through programs that built a healthy spirit, mind, and body for all. Twenty-five years later, the Y has been a cornerstone of the Edinboro community — a place where families grow, neighbors meet and children learn.

While we are proud of what the County Y has become, we know it’s the people that make the Y the special place that it is.

Join us as we celebrate this milestone, 25 years in the making!

YMCA staff will be hosting a reception in the lobby on Friday, March 29 from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Stop in to enjoy a treat and share a favorite memory! We’ll have a memory wall available leading up to the event, so stop in any time that week to write in your own and to read what others have shared.

On behalf of our County Y team, past and present, thank you for letting us be a part of your story. We hope to see you on March 29!

We have some NEW CLASSES being offered at our Eastside location!

Join our amazing instructors for:

Core Conditioning: Sundays at 9am
YMCA360 Yoga: Sundays at 10am
YMCA360 Yoga: Mondays at 7am
Yoga: Thursdays at 5:45pm
Bells & Barre: Thursdays at 6:45pm
Zumba: Saturdays at 9am

View all of our available classes here.

Join us in taking an opportunity this Lenten season to de-clutter your home. Whether you get rid of 4 bags or 40 bags, you’ll see how good it feels to not only get rid of things but to help local non-profits in the process. You may also have an opportunity to win some organizational help. Drop off bags at one of our selected community partners, and receive a chance to win 2 hours of organizing services!

Take to one of our community partners below during the stated days and times between Feb 14 and Mar 28 to be distributed to local non-profits:
Tues. 9am – Noon – Laskowski Insurance – 4620 Buffalo Rd
Wed. 9am – 11am – St. Joseph Bread of Life Clothing Store -147 W 24th St
Thurs. 10am – 2pm – Rep Bob Merski’s Office – 3921 Buffalo Road
Thurs. 4pm – 7pm – Razor’s Edge Salon – 5124 Iroquois Ave
Sat. 9am – Noon – Eastside YMCA – 2101 Nagle Rd (North Child Care Entrance)

EASTSIDE YMCA DROP OFF SHOES ONLY ANYTIME DURING OUR HOURS OF OPERATION:
Mon – Thur 5:00am – 9:00pm
Fri 5:00am – 8:00pm
Sat 7:00am – 5:00pm
Sun 8:00am – 2:00pm

Items to be donated will go to the following non-profits:
St. Joseph Bread of Life Clothing Store will keep any donations they can use.
YMCA will keep any shoes – Y fundraiser (Funds2Orgs).
Dress for Success, Re-entry Program in need of professional attire.
City Mission, Mercy Center for Women in need of coats and winter items.
St Joseph BOL, Mercy Center for Women, Red Cross in need of any adult and kid’s clothing
Kids Club at EHA in need of kids’ costumes in good condition.
High Schools in need of Prom dresses.
Foster Care in need of suitcases/backpacks/duffle bags.
City Mission in need of sleeping bags (weather-rated).
Ella Cochran Food Pantry in need of pantry items (non-expired, please)

Unfortunately, our volunteers cannot give receipts,.Please see IRS publication 526 regarding the value threshold for property contributions requiring receipts.

DRAWING INFORMATION: You will receive one ticket per bag to be put into a drawing (if the bag contains garbage, it will be documented and the ticket will be invalidated)Tickets will be entered into a drawing for one of the following items: 2 hours of organization services from Sandy’s Organizing Services 2 hours of organization services from Erie Organizing Service yet to be determined from FIXED Home Services See www.ymcaerie.org/2024/01/23/simplify-your-home-40-bags-in-40-days-challenge/ for updated prize information.

TIPS TO CLEAR CLUTTER: 20/20 Rule: Toss items you can replace for $20 and under 20 minutes. 80/20 Rule: We use 20% of our belongings 80% of the time. Either toss, donate, or store the 80% that you don’t use regularly. Five-Second Rule: Take five seconds to remember the last time an item was used. Can’t remember within five seconds? Toss it. Order Matters: Don’t just take our word for it – according to professional organizer Marie Kondo, organizing in this order – clothes, then books, then papers, then miscellaneous items, then sentimental items – has proven to be most efficient and most effective.

Looking for the perfect Christmas Gift?
Starting December 1st through December 15th, use Promo Code STAY7PAY5 to stay 7 days while only paying for 5 at Camp Sherwin.

The promotion is valid only for Friday arrival and can be used on all cabins, RVs, and tent sites booked for 2024.

The discount is not transferrable or redeemable for cash, cannot be combined with other discounts, and cannot be applied toward a current reservation for a future stay. Not valid on holiday weekends.  Holidays Weekends run Thursday – Sunday.

Can be used on consecutive reservations, but each week must be booked separately.    

For more information, or to book your stay, please contact the Camp Office at 814-774-9416 or visit https://www.camplife.com/campground/campsherwin.

We hope that you enjoy your Thanksgiving Dinner!

Don’t let all those extra calories get you down – Burn the Bird with the Y on Friday, November 24th.
We have an amazing variety of classes planned throughout the day at all of our locations.

Glenwood
5:30am Bootcamp
8:00am Silver Sneakers Classic
8:00am Zumba Gold
9:00am Zumba
10:00am Body Blitz
11:00am Silver Sneakers Classic
11:30am Latin Dance
1:00pm Silver Sneakers Classic

Eastside
6:00am – HIIT
8:00am – Silver Sneaker Stretch
8:00am – Boxing (limited spaces – please stop at the front desk)
9:00am – Cycle
9:00am – Silver Sneaker Classic
9:00am – Bells & Barre
9:00am – Kids on the Move – ages 6-11
10:00am – Family Bootcamp – ages 6 and up
10:00am – Silver Sneakers Yoga Stretch
11:00am – Mindful Stretching

County and Downtown
Our County and Downtown locations will have classes from YMCA360 streaming all day in their fitness studios. Stop in and pick out your favorite to stream.

YMCA360
Enjoy hundreds of on-demand classes: www.ymca360.org/home