In an email sent to members this afternoon, the president and CEO of YWCA confirmed it is closing its Uptown and downtown YWCA  locations on Nov. 1. This includes the fitness, gym and pool operations.

In the email, YWCA President and CEO Shelley Carthen Watson said the organization is restructuring “to further disrupt the systemic issues plaguing children and their families.”

“Our strategic pivot comes at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic has worsened existing disparities in the Twin Cities community, and the long-term consequences, especially for children and youth, are becoming more apparent,” Carthen Watson wrote in the email.

The YWCA also posted a FAQ about the closures. The organization has also scheduled an online meeting on Friday to answer YWCA members’ questions and to share more about its “new strategic direction.”

A former YWCA employee declined to comment for this story, citing YWCA's instructions to direct all media requests back to YWCA's marketing department.

This is a developing story.