Fairfield Ymca Childcare Center

I visited this YMCA location today on 7/29/25 with my family using a free Try-2-Y day pass that’s clearly listed on the official website. From the moment we arrived, we were treated with coldness and attitude by a white staff member who immediately seemed like she didn’t want us there. When we mentioned the day pass, she dismissed it and claimed there was “no such thing,” even though it’s publicly available online. Then she kept changing the story: first saying it wasn’t valid for children, then saying it didn’t include swimming, and finally saying there was no open swim even though their own website listed open swim that day. The entire interaction felt like they were just trying to get rid of us. It wasn’t just dismissive it felt purposefully unwelcoming and prejudiced. We’re Black, and in a town like Fairfield with very little diversity and visible conservative flags everywhere, it felt like our presence alone was a problem to them. Before even going, I read a review from another family of color who said they were racially profiled at this same location. After experiencing it myself, I fully believe it. The energy was not safe, not friendly, and not inclusive. If this YMCA claims to support community and equity, they need to start by addressing their staff’s biases and how they treat people who don’t “fit in” with the local area. I will not be returning, and I do not recommend this location to anyone who’s expecting fairness, kindness, or basic respect. And if you are a person of color I do not recommend this facility, I’d recommend going to Woodruff Family YMCA. I’ve visited the Milford YMCA before (Woodruff Family YMCA), which is also in a predominantly white town, and the experience there was completely different. The staff were welcoming, diverse, and respectful. The staff here made me feel like I didn’t belong, and that says more about them than it does about me.

So I went to this YMCA with my family to swim. I am not from this towns YMCA and was just visiting. The pool experience was lovely until a certain lifegaurd began to aggressively tell us random rules. He told my brother and my cousin that they were not allowed to stand on the stairs because they would fall into the drain mind you my brother is 6 foot 3. He also claimed that my 10 year old cousins were not wearing proper swim shirts when in actuality they were proper swim wear which we had all recent bought from a local athletics store. I personally felt that me and my family were racially profiled given that at the time we were the only individuals of color in the pool . I don’t plan on coming back to this YMCA because it’s absolutely not a safe environment.

My local YMCA. My son and I both come 4 days a week. We use the gym, weight room as well of the pool. The pool is reserved more often than not but if you have a flexible schedule, you can find time for all your exercise needs. They also have Yoga, Pre-K and as well as after school programs and summer programs for kids right up to teens.

I used to love this facility until they traumatized my 3 year old into hating the pool. I witness one the swimming instructors throwing my 3 year old in the pool letting her go down grabbing her back up with one arm and repeating the process several times until our eyes locked. I was in such shock. When she noticed me looking at her she immediately turned it into a swimming exercise. She did it so seamlessly that I was left wondering if I was just letting my anxiety see something different. I asked my daughter why she was crying she seemed to think she was in trouble, she kept saying she wanted to apologize to her swimming teacher. Fast forward the next weekend when she should have had her next lesson. She refuses to go back. She said, her swim teacher is not nice and she doesn’t want to go back. I feel horrible, bc there has been times that my 3 year old didn’t want to stay with her swimming instructor but her instructor would just grab her and start playing with her in the water and she would forget not wanted to stay. I wonder how long this has been going on. She is even hesitant to go in the water with me now. What saddens me the most is that she seemed so gentle with the other kids. Like my daughter was just targeted.

Wendy at the front desk staff has been consistently very helpful. The building and pool area are old but they are very well maintained. I have found the pool locker rooms to be very clean on a consistent basis as well. The staff is friendly . The gym has weights and machines and there are many classes offered both in person and online.