YMCA opens free summer memberships for Chicago teens

The YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago is offering free summer memberships to thousands of Chicago teens ages 12 to 18, running from Monday through Aug. 31. The program, backed by Mayor Brandon Johnson, is pitched as an answer to teen takeovers—shifting the focus to

For Chicago teens looking for something to do after school and into summer, the YMCA is putting a sign-in welcome mat in front of seven local centers—starting Monday.

Mayor Brandon Johnson stood at the South Side YMCA, 6330 S. Stony Island Ave. as the YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago rolled out a free summer membership program aimed at young people ages 12 to 18. The offer runs from Monday through Aug. 31. Teens can walk into any of the participating Ys and receive a free membership card. but they must show proof of residency and be accompanied by an adult.

The YMCA has seven “Ys” across the city—Irving Park. Kelly Hall. Lake View. McCormick. Rauner Family. South Side and West Garfield Park—participating in the membership drive. YMCA President and CEO Adam Alonso said the push is meant to change the conversation around teen takeovers. shifting attention from what’s wrong to what’s available.

“There’s too much talk about teen takeovers and not enough about ‘teen opportunity’ and giving young people ‘safe spaces to meet and connect,’” Alonso told reporters.

“Our narrative,” he said, “should be not everything that’s wrong. Not everything that’s broken. But what’s right, what’s available to our young people.” He urged families and teens to take advantage of the moment.

“This is an opportunity to step into the moment and lead… Sign up, bring your friends… Use our fitness centers, our pools, our gyms, our fields, completely free of charge,” Alonso said.

He acknowledged the program is untested at this scale, calling it “a little bit nervous” because “we’ve never done this.” Still, he expects interest to be strong—hoping for as many as 5,000 young people to take advantage of the free membership.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen,” Alonso said. “We might have 10,000 young people show up and sign up. That would be an amazing problem to have.”

One reason that outcome may be plausible, at least at the Y he attends, came from 18-year-old Maurice Allen. He said he’s been coming to the Y every day since he was a shy high school freshman.

“I started because I love sports — all sports,” Allen said. “But what kept me coming back was everything else, Allen said. ‘The teen programs, the people. My friends are there… We play basketball. We work out. We hang out. It became my place.’”

Allen described how the teen program helped him turn shyness into connection, saying it helped a shy kid make “real friends, come out of my shell,” and prepare for adult responsibilities.

He said the Y has supported him with jobs and practical steps to get there.

“The Y helped me get my Social Security job. It helped me prepare for a job interview at Wendy’s. And I got the job. They arranged my transportation to get there. Now they’re helping me learn how to drive. Whatever you need, they find a way to help make it happen,” Allen said.

Johnson, standing in front of the center as the mayoral pitch landed with younger residents nearby, joked about what that help would have meant for his family.

“If I had known the Y offered free driving lessons, I would have dropped my son off,” Johnson said.

The mayor’s remarks tied the membership program to his broader argument that Chicago needs investment in young people—not just punishment—for a problem he calls perennial. He recalled working for the Y and said summer program fees once made it hard for families living in Cabrini Green.

“Young people would come into the Y and, unfortunately, were not able to stay and participate in programming because their parents did not have enough to feed them and provide opportunities for them,” Johnson said.

He urged residents to temper judgment toward teens and families.

“And so. for all of those individuals that want to point fingers at our young people and point fingers at our families — if you do not know what it’s like to wake up in Chicago and you can barely make the ends meet. then stop judging our families and stop judging our young people. Stop it,” Johnson said.

The push for opportunity comes after a Memorial Day weekend marked by teen takeovers turned violent, and as City Council support builds for a revised curfew ordinance, additional parental responsibility measures, and an attempt to hold social media companies accountable.

Even with that legislative momentum, Johnson emphasized Wednesday that he sees the better answer in what he called “life-changing” opportunities, including summer jobs and the YMCA’s offer of free memberships.

“These partnerships… play a role in how we reduce violence,” he said.

Johnson framed the effort in personal terms, describing his faith and his view of how young people should be treated.

“As a preacher’s son and a self-declared ‘person of faith,’ Johnson said he is ‘living out the creed of what Jesus Christ said.’” He said he believes the city can hold young people accountable without shutting the door.

“We do not reject young people. We do not turn them away… We can hold young people accountable. They want to be held accountable. But if you do not provide opportunity for young people, then you are rejecting young people,” Johnson said.

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