Hamilton

Hamilton's downtown YMCA resuming services next week after fire in July

Hamilton's downtown YMCA says its services will reopen to members on Monday, Aug. 12.

A fire in the men's residence on July 22 closed the branch

building with fire fighters in front
Residents stand outside the YMCA Hamilton building at James Street South and Jackson Street as firefighters and police conduct an investigation following a fire on July 22, 2024. (Samantha Beattie/CBC)

Hamilton's downtown YMCA says its services will reopen to members on Monday, Aug. 12.

That includes the fitness and aquatic centre, the newcomer youth centre and the EarlyON child care drop-in centre.

Those facilities closed after a fire on July 22 ripped through the building's third floor, displacing 173 tenants in the YMCA's transitional housing residence program for men.

Members who make bi-weekly payments will see their future payments adjusted to reflect the credit they got during the three-week closure.

A fitness centre.
The branch includes a fitness and aquatic centre, a newcomer youth centre and EarlyON child care drop-in centre. Those services have also been closed since the fire. (Bobby Hristova/CBC)

Members who make payments each year or term will get a three-week extension to their membership. 

The credits may not appear until the end of this week, according to the YMCA's website.

Some of the 173 tenants staying at the YMCA when the fire broke out have returned to their units or found permanent housing, according to the charity.

On its website, it states 37 people returned to their units on the second floor last week, 10 are living in temporary accommodations at the building and six found permanent housing.

YMCA also says 120 are temporarily staying elsewhere including in hotels, other shelters or with family and friends.

Manny Figueiredo, chief executive officer of the local YMCA, previously said the charity is rethinking how it helps people experiencing homelessness in Hamilton in the wake of the fire and is hoping to eventually relocate.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bobby Hristova

Journalist

Bobby Hristova is a journalist with CBC Marketplace. He's passionate about investigative reporting and accountability journalism that drives change. He has worked with CBC Hamilton since 2019 and also worked with CBC Toronto's Enterprise Team. Before CBC, Bobby worked for National Post, CityNews and as a freelancer.