East Belleville YMCA

★★★★★Suzanne Boyle

Just completed a huge renovation with new equipment, locker rooms and an additional group exercise room. Can't say enough about attentive and friendly staff. Pool reno in near future, too. The Y really is a welcoming place for all ages. Classes for seniors are amazing, plus Pilates, yoga and many more offerings daily.

★★★★★Angie

Everyone was so kind & helpful . The four fitness classes I took had excellent teachers & produced great results. I highly recommend.

★Leo Kaercher

Her we go again, arrived at the YMCA at 0450 and departed at 0515 with the facility still closed Why is it the other area YMCAs can open on time but the east belleville ymca can't? We pay for a service and can't use that service, why? Please help your members!

★★★★BW

East Belleville YMCA offers a great range of community-centered programs, especially for kids. Their before/after school and summer programs are clearly a strong focus, and it’s great to see those needs being met. I signed up for a trial to see if the $49/month membership would meet my personal fitness goals. The gym area has a decent selection of equipment covering most muscle groups, with multiple free weights, squat racks, and dumbbells. The only thing noticeably missing was equipment for lateral raises. While the machines are a bit older, that’s not a big deal—as long as maintenance is kept up. Some machines had rusted weight pins that were hard to use, and a few benches had torn padding. Simple fixes like lubrication and upholstery repair would really improve the experience and bring the gym up to par with other fitness centers. Staff were very friendly and welcoming. Overall, a good option—especially for families or those looking for more than just a gym.

★Joyce Pryor

I sent my child to a one week camp during 4th of July week, so he only went 4 days. Day one of camp, I was told he had a rough morning. The teacher told me that she was just thrown in the room and did not know what she was doing, which to a 6 year old is prime time to get into what 6 year olds get into when there is no structure. She was extremely sweet though and I felt for her as I am also an educator and I know what kids are capable of when you don't have experience and/or have a plan. The second day was ok, however, when I picked my child up for the 3rd day they had a write up. Background knowledge, my child loves rocks and collects them, which I don't expect any of the counselors to know that. Anyhow, I was told another kid told one of the counselors that my child had rocks in their pocket and my child was told to put the rocks down and this upset my child. I was told it took him a few minutes to calm down. I don't know how that requires a write up but was told by one of the directors, who at times spoke over me and seemed like he could care less, that if a child needs time to calm down or if it takes one of the teachers away from a group then thats a problem and that he was not there so he doesn't know what happened. I was also told that there are two directors over the camps, and that there are 2 groups. Why wasn't one of them available to help so that the teacher can be where they need to be? I also know that there are very young teenagers and very young adults running these camps and you really only learn through hands on experiences. However, they need to have proper training. They need to be able to deescalate, to have conflict-resolution skills and how to be developmentally appropriate with smaller children. Like I stated earlier, I understand my child cannot have rocks, but the way in which it was handled was not ok and it escalated for the simple reason that, there are young teens and adults managing a lot of very young children without what seems to be, when speaking to the counselor who interacted with my child, the proper training. The YMCA says that it inclusive, but it seems that they are only inclusive if your child just sits, is quiet and does nothing. The director I spoke to said they are inclusive and began to bring up children that have IEP's. That is not the only way you are inclusive. How about the children that may just need a little more patience, or someone who takes a few seconds to acknowledge, validate and just listen for a second. I don't know a six year who is going to do something the first time you ask every single time. We don't even do that as adults. If the YMCA is going to have summer camp and say that all are welcome, then they need to make sure they are equipped and properly trained with procedures in place for all the children, not just the ones with IEP's. This is something that I am paying for, so I expect a little bit more. I even offered my services for free as I am off during the summer to help coach the young counselors or to just be an extra body to help some of the students who may just need that little extra amount of understanding, which is something we all could use. Needless to say, I will be finding other alternatives for my child.