It's been a rough year for Sarasota and Charlotte County YMCAs, and it may get worse before it gets better.

  Carl Weinrich, president and CEO of the Sarasota Family YMCA, announced in January the closure of the following three programs, due to a lack of funding:

  • The Character House, a residential program in conjunction with the Department of Juvenile Justice for pregnant teens, which was projected to lose more than $210,000;

  • The Bowman Ranch, a group home for kids between 11 and 18, which was projected to lose more than $250,000;

  • The Transitional Living Program, where homeless children between 16 and 22 learn job skills, lost its federal grant.

  Weinrich cited the combination of state funding cutbacks, a general downsizing of foster care within the organization, the downturn in the economy and a reduction in membership revenue as a "quadruple whammy" that forced the end of the programs.