My Horrible Work Experience at Mel Korum YMCA

Written by Andrelyn Izquierdo.

A true story of my personal experience.

WARNING: This article contains sensitive content and may be found offensive or triggering to some people. Very graphic details may include explanations from my personal experiences. If for any reason you are not ready to see details of abuse or sexual violence, feel free to move on and come back when you are ready. It is also recommended that you view this with a friend or family member for emotional support.

Image by Juraj Varga from Pixabay.

After so many acts of sexual harassment and discrimination while on the clock, working for Mel Korum YMCA was draining me. I worked there from December 2022 through January 2022 with my employment lasting only about a month and a half. So much had occurred during that month and a half that was so unfair to me along with the continuous hatred treatment that I am now writing more about my honest experiences. Plus, it never hurt to have everything documented in many places at once while I'm the victim of a lot of theft still over the years including my paper documents while being a member of their facility.

Discrimination

I took charge of following up after a dispute with Bri Ferdinand treating me in a discriminatory manner. Here is the letter that I had to write to their Corporate Human Resources to try to make sure that I get fair treatment while on the clock at work. It is dated Monday, January 2, 2023.

Sexual Harassment

Image by Tumisu from Pixabay.

Here is an article I wrote earlier this year that mentions another discriminatory time during work at this gym in which I was receiving mistreatment from other employees:

https://andrelynwriting.wixsite.com/website/post/passive-sexual-harassment-encounter

The nature of this situation was in regard to our uniform, but also containing sexual harassment. The outcome of this altercation also did not result in that employee, with the red bra exposed openly through her shirt on purpose, having to leave the facility like how I was pushed out for wearing jeans or having the wrong color shirt on.

Indecent Exposure

Image by Alexa from Pixabay.

Moreover, while working for YMCA, I saw Kim Christian wearing the same sneakers as the nurses and doctors from Good Samaritan Hospital that say HOKA. The word “Ho” is mentioned many times throughout my visits there as well as being put as practical jokes as if it’s something to be funny since I'm being named as a "Ho". Another time, she darted a look of disgust at me while having to bring my walker to work during times when I was sexually assaulted so badly that it was hard for me to move, but I still needed to work to help release myself from debt bondage, a form of Human Trafficking. The bottom half of my body felt like it was falling off while feeling numb at the same time and I happened to be bleeding a lot through my vagina.

Late last year after I was hired at YMCA, I caught someone in Kim's office that she shared with who happens to be her Supervisor, Bri (Brittney) Ferdinand, main Director of YMCA, masturbating in her office. She sexually harassed me while I was speaking to her in her office and also mistreated me with discriminatory attacks. I was bullied on and off as both of these employers were taking alternating vacations during the month and a half I was working there.

Be Aware

To help spread awareness of this public sexual misconduct, I wrote a Google Review. Feel free to read the snapshot below. It is shareable through the website in the following link:

https://goo.gl/maps/HpEeM41h3FS9zi8i6

Bad Internet

YMCA has a Wi-Fi that was brought to my attention by one of the frequent members there. I worked at the Membership desk, which is the front desk located at the entrance of the family establishment having to greet each person that walks through the doors. The Wi-Fi name is called Extreme Network and looked suspicious as it didn’t show up before while trying to get onto their public Wi-Fi. As I helped children who had phones trying to gain access to communicate with their parents or play games on their phones while waiting for their parents to finish exercising, the network popped up on their phones. This is very alarming as suspicious content is accessible to children through exposure. The network is password protected and the member informed me that only specific people who pay more money can access it. She showed me an example of the automated email confirmation that is received once filling out the profile in front of my face with her full name to gain permission to then receive a password to have the wi-fi network unlocked on her mobile device. She didn’t have to pay anything yet. The message came from a name that is female and mentioned hints that can be sexually misleading.

Suspicious Finding

Also, I was given a tour of the facility in which I was taken to a large “storage” room located on the second floor sealed by a locked door that staff management have access to. There was a Clint Eastwood standup poster on the stairs as we walked up. There are so many building safety violations once entering the room with large holes in the drywall and huge spider webs in corners, the room felt very eerie. In one of the large openings in the wall, there was a landline phone inside.

There were many boxes, some random bricks, and also debris around on the floor. Walking in further, there was a structure that looked almost box-like as if it were a mini room that has only one area with an opening. I walked around one side while the Director walked along the other side. I couldn’t find an opening to get inside where she was telling me my uniform shirt was located. Then I had lost her as I couldn’t find her, but could still hear her. The opening was very thin closest to the wall that the Director slid her back against the wall to get through. It’s hard to see unless you can directly be in front of it and know where it is located. This room violates so many health codes that it should be reported.

I'm still working on trying to figure out the reporting process for the many details of different scenarios that I've experienced. So many things happened in a short amount of time, but unfortunately, I'm still experiencing much sexual violence from former staff members from here. Little by little I'm trying to get everything out in the open by speaking out and spreading awareness throughout my community of the dangers they may be experiencing as well and are unsure of how to identify them.

Reminder

Remember to always try to #besafe. If you're stuck in a room where you feel uncomfortable, try to exit as quickly as possible and confide in someone with as much detail as you can remember. Put it in writing as well as soon as you can.

#speakout #speakup #discrimination #racism #threats #intimidation #sexualharassment #sexualviolence #indecentexposure #wifi #humantrafficking #YMCA #suspicious #finding #awareness #victim #survivor #selfdefense #truestory #UnseenFortitude #empowerment #blogger #KnowTheTruth This information was gathered from friends, family, and my life experiences combined.

Inspired by my true story.

This article is written by: Andrelyn Izquierdo #AndrelynWriting https://www.facebook.com/UnseenFortitude