The YOU: Youth Opportunity Union

The Youth Opportunity Union will be a new, multi-use community facility for recreational, educational and healthy opportunities for youth in Poughkeepsie. Serving as a physical hub for Dutchess County’s Path to Promise initiative, the YOU revitalizes a former YMCA site as a community and recreation resource that can be a safe, structured and horizon-expanding space for Poughkeepsie and Dutchess County youth and families.

More than just a building, the Youth Opportunity Union represents a comprehensive, cradle-to-career commitment to giving children and young people the best possible start in life. The facility offers new athletic and educational opportunities to families in the City of Poughkeepsie and beyond, providing needed educational, childcare, health and recreation services and pushing the boundaries of what the community can achieve together by embodying and modeling new and innovative approaches to cross-sector partnerships and coordination.

Grassroots efforts have since been underway to bring back to Dutchess County a space that offers these important community programs. Working closely with The 35 Montgomery Community Coalition, Poughkeepsie Children’s Cabinet, and the City of Poughkeepsie, MASS extensively surveyed the community, asking children and families what they’d like the future of the YOU to be. The new design reflects this essential community feedback: a welcoming facade invites families inside to spaces of recreation and learning, where county residents can exercise their bodies and minds. 

MASS is honored and excited to continue our work with the Dutchess County Government and with a diverse group of Poughkeepsie stakeholders and community members to make the vision for the YOU a reality. For more information on the project, visit the-you.org.