Category: Blog

Burn the Bird

Posted on by Victoria Stilson

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 29th.
We have an amazing variety of classes planned throughout the day at all of our locations.

Glenwood
8:00am – Silver sneakers/Gilmore Gym w/ Curtis
8:30am – Restorative Yoga/Holistic Center w/ Julie
9:00am – Strength Training/Studio One w/ Heidi
10:00am – Body Blitz/Studio One w/ Jeremias
10:30am – Vinyasa Yoga/Holistic Center w/ Janet
11:00am – Silver sneakers/Gilmore Gym w/ Curtis
11:30am – Zumba/Studio One w/ Olga 

Eastside
6:00am – HIIT w/ Erin
8:00am – Muscle Pump w/ Shelly Miller
8:00am – SS Yoga Stretch
9:00am – Step w/ Shelly Miller
9:00am – SS Classic
10:00am – SoulFusion w/ Deanna
10:00am – SS Yoga Stretch
1:00pm – SS Boom Move
1:45pm – SS EnerChi

County
7:00am – HIIT w/ Robin
7:45am – Core and Stretch w/ Robin

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

‘I’M SO GRATEFUL TO HAVE THIS TIME.’

Posted on by Deanna Renaud

Michele Nowacinski loves being a stay-at-home mom to her three young children, but with no family in the area and a homeschooling routine to maintain, it can be challenging to get a break.

That’s why the whole family looks forward to their visits to the Glenwood YMCA. The kids spend time playing and forming friendships in Child Watch while Michele takes time for herself in the pool.

“It’s such a blessing,” says Michele. “The Y means so much to me — the staff are more like family.”

Swimming has become Michele’s outlet. She says the pool offers her a mental and physical break. The water is calming and provides some rare quiet in her day.

“I’m so grateful to have this time. When I get that break, it helps me to be a better mom.”

Mental Health Community Care at the Y

Posted on by Victoria Stilson

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).