Atlanta Water Safety Coalition working to increase access to water-safety programs

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) – Roughly 70% of the earth is covered in water, and yet, many people do not know how to interact with it.

That problem is especially prevalent in African-American communities. According to the National Institutes of Health, from 2019 to 2020, the drowning rate for Black or African Americans ages 29 and under increased by 23.7%.

That problem was a catalyst behind the 2023 creation of the Atlanta Water Safety Coalition.

“We have to do something,” said Allison Toller, the Chief Social Impact Officer of the YMCA of Metro Atlanta.

Swimming is a life skill that has struggled to wade into some metro Atlanta communities. For people who don’t know how to swim, the idea of being close to large bodies of water can be terrifying. And if parents don’t swim, there’s a good chance their children don’t either.

“The highest rate of death in children is a result of drowning,” Toller said.

This is the thinking behind the AWSC, a union of the YMCA of metro Atlanta, Atlanta Parks and Recreation, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta, and the Red Cross.

“We share our resources, and we come together and share ideas, and we use those ideas to help advocate for water safety,” said Atlanta Aquatics Director Marcus Byams. “Some people may have a fear of water, and we’re here to help them overcome those fears as well.”

That’s especially true for the area surrounding the Villages at Carver Family YMCA in Southwest Atlanta.

“In those brown and black communities, the percentages of drownings have increased,” Byams said, echoing the NIH data.

Part of creating access is spreading the word, something addressed in the showing of the documentary, Drowning In Silence at the ‘Carver YMCA’ on Thursday night.

“The documentary sheds a light on a few families that have experienced drownings and the effects it had on their lives,” Byams explained.

The message is spreading. David Goldstein swims at the Carver YMCA five times per week and has seen the plan in action.

“You can tell each time the kids come they get more comfortable, and they really do a good job with their youth program, teaching kids to swim,” Goldstein said.

While the AWSC is barely six months old, the coalition has created an excellent jumping-in point to teach people to safely interact with 70% of the earth.

“We’re just getting started,” Toller said.

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