Decentralized program development in a community branch Y.M.C.A. : an analytical study of program development in the Vancouver Alma Branch Y.M.C.A., 1949-1959.

The general subject of this study is the postwar development of decentralized programs by the Young Men's Christian Association; the specific study is its application in a particular section of Vancouver (approximately four "neighbourhoods" in the western section of the City). The Alma "Y" was initiated in these, and the study analyzes its development over a ten-year span. Perspective is provided by a brief review of recreation in North America and the changing roles of the traditional urban Y.M.C.A. "Interest groups.", "mass activity programs", and "purpose groups," are identified as aids to analysis;. This is applied to programs sponsored (a) to meet needs identified by the community, and (b) to meet needs identified by Branch Y.M.C.A. leadership but unrecognized in the community at large. The structure necessary for effective program development in the communities involved is evaluated in terms of Y.M.C.A. objectives . Lay-professional relationships , and the professional's contribution to program services and organization, are also illuminated by "case study". For the Alma Branch, as for other community Branch Y.M.C.A.'s, one of the issues clarified is the role a local "Y" has to perform if it is to supplement constructively other community organizations, both public and private. An area of common concern to all recreational organizations is the importance of keeping administration related to the development of program services. A final chapter considers the implications for increasing the value of the local Y.M.C.A. branch in this kind of residential area.Arts, Faculty ofSocial Work, School ofGraduat