Families in Connecticut are being encouraged to prioritize swim lessons as summer temperatures rise and more children head to pools, lakes, and rivers. The YMCA of Greater Hartford has offered free swim lessons to 1,000 children through nonprofit grant funding, while advocates continue to push for expanded access across the state.

Water Safety and Survival Skills

YMCA leaders say learning water safety and survival skills can help prevent drowning tragedies, which can happen within seconds. For parents like Granby resident Trent Hewitson, swim lessons are essential. “Being in the water is such a huge part of summers here in Connecticut,” he said. Hewitson takes his children to the Farmington Valley YMCA in Granby for lessons every week.

YMCA swim instructor Morgan Siegel said lessons focus on practical skills children can use in emergencies. “Starfish float on their back if they’re too tired. Immediately grabbing the wall. How to keep their face in the water and out of the water,” she said.

Advocating for Expanded Access

YMCA of Greater Hartford President and CEO Jim O’Rourke said grant funding has allowed the organization to provide free lessons to 1,000 children. He also advocated for legislation during the most recent legislative session to expand free swim lessons statewide. The bill did not receive a vote.

O’Rourke said a previous state investment helped more than 4,500 children receive swim lessons at no cost to their families. “It’s important that they do have access to swim lessons,” he said. The push for expanded access comes as drowning incidents continue to affect communities across Connecticut.

According to a report from the Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate, nearly 65% of children who drowned in Connecticut between 2011 and 2018 were Black or Hispanic. Siegel said teaching children water safety skills at a young age can have lasting benefits. “We’re just giving them the skills that they’re going to use and need when they go into the real world,” said Siegel.

O’Rourke said increasing access to free swim lessons could help address disparities and improve water safety outcomes statewide. He plans to seek state funding again next year. “Allowing any child access to swim lessons throughout the state, not just at the YMCA, the Boys and Girls Clubs, and our community centers, is so vital,” he said.

Original reporting: NBC Connecticut — read the source article.