Stop Drowning Now

STOP DROWNING NOW CITIES

If you’re reading this newsletter and article, you are among the rare individuals who know that this is the start of drowning season. You also likely agree that the pandemic interruption in swim lessons across the majority of our schools will produce a high risk of student skill regression. This will directly increase drowning risk. Finally you might also agree that as many pools remain closed or with limited operations, kids will seek aquatic adventures in more unsupervised bodies of water.

Public leaders and health officials are almost always ignorant about drowning risk. They also lack awareness of the complex conditions which make drowning risk improve or decline. Stop Drowning Now has been researching how to bridge this knowledge gap to compliment USSSA member businesses, as well as lesson-focused non-profits like our colleagues at Hope Floats.

The product of several years’ work by SDN board members and other volunteers is Stop Drowning Now Cities. This program gives engaging knowledge-based info to community leaders, so they can use their intra-municipal networks to educate kids and families. Our first SDN City was Irvine in California’s Orange County. Irvine kicked off their program and support for SDN with a $5,000 gift and adopted use of SDN materials in their citizen public outreach. Some months later, the CIty of Long Beach CA joined them in contributing to SDN and use of SDN collateral. Irvine and Long Beach are members of the Orange County Drowning Prevention Task Force. This local professional network comprises many small and medium-sized municipalities who recognize drowning as a critical safety issue.

USSSA members have this opportunity too. In your community, leaders are seeking public health services to deliver to their citizens. There is no template for who to contact, but you can start with your mayor’s office, city councilperson’s office, local parks + rec leader, fire-rescue, hospitals and even coroner’s offices. It is a relationship- building and education process, but it is worthwhile and will reinforce your position as a community leader in aquatic safety.

CONTACT SDN’S SARA BISKIE FOR MORE INFORMATION AT INFO@STOPDROWNINGNOW.ORG.

Special thanks and acknowledgement to the SDN Board team who made this possible. It includes Jessica Barnes, Leslie Daland and Joe Oehme for completing our storyboards. Most importantly please thank SDN Vice President Dan Berzansky for conception of the program as well as recruiting our pioneer cities and the OCDPTF.