MILWAUKEE — Warm summer days at the beach may seem like a far away dream. But when it comes to keeping people safe on the lake or at the pool, now is when the preparations take place.
"A lot of people aren't thinking about their summer pool experiences in February, but this is actually the heaviest recruiting time for lifeguards for Milwaukee County Parks," said Milwaukee Parks Foundation Executive Director Rebecca Stoner.
With lifeguard shortages over the last several years keeping pools closed and beaches understaffed across the county, the foundation wanted to try something new.
The Aquatics Ambassadors program helps recruit lifeguards and promote swimming in Milwaukee County. Six people were named ambassadors, including Lloyd Seawright.
"I grew up right up the bluff from Bradford Beach, my last name is Seawright, I've just been playing and swimming in the water since I was a child," Seawright shared. "I love to swim, love to paddle, love to row, love to dive and it's just all around an attractive environment to be in."
However, he knows not everyone had the same opportunities to learn how to swim that he had growing up. He believes everyone should have safe access to our lakes, rivers and pools which is why he became an Aquatics Ambassador.
The program is also working to address racial disparities.
"A lot of communities of color have been systematically disenfranchised from swimming and pools. When you think about pool segregation even just a few decades ago, it hasn't always been a welcoming space for communities of color," Stoner said.
A study from the CDC found that a Black person is 1.5 times more likely to drown than their white counterpart. The study identifies community-based programs that promote basic swimming as a way to address this deadly disparity.
"We're not naive to think that [the problems are] going to be solved over a short period of time, and we really want to be in this for the long haul. We want this Aquatics Ambassadors initiative to last a long time," Stoner shared.
Seawright hopes more people will give swimming a try, and maybe they'll learn to love the water as much as he does.
"We have all these resources and incredible assets that Mother Nature has given us, you should get out and enjoy it. Indulge yourself in the pleasures and the gifts that water gives a human being," Seawright said.
For information on where you can sign up for swim lessons or how to become a lifeguard, you can visit the Aquatics Ambassadors website by clicking here.
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