2 YMCA facilities to shut their doors for good in Tennessee

If you’ve been a fan of the YMCA of Jackson and West Tennessee, you may have noticed that the business in each area has shut its doors. According to an Oct. 8 report, the YMCA filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy for both facilities. Now, the organizations will be dissolved and closed.

The main reason behind the organizations’ troubles seems to be the failing economy, according to the chairwoman of the YMCA’s board of directors. In recent years, the recession has hit the area hard, and with less free spending money, fewer families were signing up for membership at the community centers. With the lower number of memberships combined with a lack of donations, there was little income for the facility.

On top of a low income, the facility also saw an increase in the cost of maintenance requirements and expenses. The facilities, in many cases, have been aging and needed work to keep them in good shape. Because the financial resources were not available to overcome the obstacles facing the organizations, the board decided to shut them down.

In some cases, businesses can work to restructure their debts and maintain their operations, which is what you may be working on with your attorney in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy, for instance. However, in this case, the YMCA decided that if the operations and staffing expenses were cut further, the programs and services offered to the community would not be able to continue. Because of this, the YMCA board has agreed that it was time to shut down the two struggling community centers.

Source: The Jackson Sun, “YMCA of Jackson and West Tennessee closes,” Oct. 08, 2015