TESTIMONY
Shawn Slevin on Enhancing Water Safety and Building an Aquatic Culture in NYC
1:15:17
·
9 min
Shawn Slevin, Executive Director of Swim Strong Foundation, discusses the foundation's role in enhancing water safety and fostering an aquatic culture in New York City.
- Slevin highlights Swim Strong Foundation's achievements in reducing unintended water-related accidents through swim lessons, having helped over 10,700 individuals.
- The testimony emphasizes the importance of Swim Strong's educational programs in schools, reaching over 41,000 students, and advocacy for water safety legislation and infrastructure.
- She praises the collaboration with the Department of Parks and Recreation and city council members on water safety initiatives and the passage of crucial bills.
- Slevin outlines a comprehensive strategy for building an aquatic culture, including diverse stakeholder involvement and removing barriers for lifeguard certification.
- The testimony concludes with calls for equitable pool space sharing, infrastructure development, and prioritizing water safety education for all New Yorkers.
Shawn Slevin
1:15:17
So greetings, esteemed council members and staff.
1:15:21
Members of the New York City Parks Commission, task force, colleagues, and fellow New Yorkers.
1:15:27
My name is Sean Slaven.
1:15:29
I am the executive director and founder of Swim Strong Foundation.
1:15:34
We have been an alphurprofit here in New York City for 17 years, providing an opportunity to reduce unintended drowning and water based accidents We've helped more than 10,700 people learn to swim, given 1,600,000 plus dollars in free swim lessons.
1:15:53
We now have an educational program in schools.
1:15:56
We've reached 41,000 plus students in schools, and we're advocates for legislation that helps to build an aquatic infrastructure and culture here in New York, city and state.
1:16:10
Also part of the border safety coalition, the China and Kate, actually cochair, and also a part of the New York City Lifeguard Interorganizational Task Force here in New York City.
1:16:25
I want to thank you Commissioner, in particular, for your work and your team in developing the 5 point plan for water safety.
1:16:34
It highlights the important role that the Department of Parks And Recreation can play as one partner of many.
1:16:42
Which are already working tirelessly to create an aquatic culture here in our maritime city.
1:16:48
In addition, I want to thank council member, Selvina Brooks Powers, Julie Menon, and yourself and teams for your work previous on the 3 bills that recently passed, which address the lack of public pool infrastructure, lack of affordable opportunities to learn to swim, lack of being able to get timely data as it relates to the drowning and water based accidents that we are incurring.
1:17:12
These bills and others at the state level as well as the governors, New New York City Swim's initiative are a start to narrowing the huge gap we have here across the city and state as it relates to the criticality of aquatic knowledge and skill.
1:17:29
What follows is Swim Strong's comprehensive plan to create an opportunity of relevance to the water, which supports building and aquatic culture.
1:17:39
You'll note several diverse stakeholders are required in this endeavor.
1:17:44
After all, you cannot be what you do not see.
1:17:49
And if you have no familial or personal experience in connection to the water, you will not prioritize the knowledge required from an intellectual or skill based perspective.
1:18:04
So what is an aquatic culture?
1:18:06
It's the knowledge of and skills in the water which sustains our lives.
1:18:12
Water must be relevant for everyone.
1:18:15
This knowledge includes managing the risk associated with water, climate action is bringing more water into our daily lives.
1:18:24
Avoidance is not the answer and it is not possible.
1:18:30
It encompasses safe drinking water, management of wastewater, sustained health of our natural waters to promote marine life, management of wetlands, at all to survive the rising water levels, safe transport through water and vibrant maritime history.
1:18:48
A product's knowledge and skills to enjoy the health, recreational, and occupational benefits of water.
1:18:56
So I'm going to take you back to children age toddlers under the age of five.
1:19:03
Drowning is now a leading cause of death for those kids, and most of them are dying in their own homes.
1:19:08
Every year here in the US, we lose between 450 and 500 children per year to this.
1:19:14
Solutions.
1:19:15
We need to give parents and caregivers the tools to understand how to manage the risk of water in their own homes.
1:19:24
And there is some state legislation that's just recently been passed, but we can do more here at the city to be able to do that.
1:19:31
To acclimatize children and their pay parents to the water.
1:19:35
Very important.
1:19:36
As we get into the school age for children's age five to ten, we need to bring situational knowledge of water into the classroom to help children understand the benefits, the risk, and the dangers affiliated with all types of water from inside their homes to everywhere they will meet it out of doors, around the seasons and, of course, with extreme weather of climate.
1:20:01
So that in itself needs to be carried through to the older classes with, again, more emphasis on this situational knowledge of water, and we also need to be providing a focus on the risky behaviors that students particularly in middle school to high school are beginning to explore.
1:20:25
Right?
1:20:25
Because is the time that they're independent, they're gaining their independence, and where you don't have knowledge, you have problems.
1:20:34
And this is how we lose so many of our children year after year.
1:20:37
Of course, in the older ages, we want to encourage aquatic as a profession, so opportunities to pursue that as lifeguards, border safety instructors, competitive swim coaches and other aquatic activities such as water polo, etcetera.
1:20:57
1st responder status.
1:20:59
For beach lifeguards who are senior in their positions to really give them that they are the first responders.
1:21:07
Right?
1:21:07
And maybe even move lifeguards out of the parks department entirely and move them into the fire department.
1:21:14
Just a thought happens across the rest of the country, by the way.
1:21:19
We also want to make sure that we are removing the barriers to other city agencies to become lifeguard, so this certification issue that you mentioned earlier, commissioner, to rehire, re retired lifeguards, and again, restructure the the lifeguard passage.
1:21:39
So we at this point have a cookie cutter process, every lifeguard has the ability to guard multi facilities, which is positive on one hand, but it really restricts the ability to bring more people into the work.
1:21:56
So we do not need a person who is guarding a splash pad to have the same credentials and skill as a person who's working an open water facility.
1:22:06
If we can make that change, we can open the pipeline considerably and bring more people in to bear.
1:22:12
So what will support this is actually the following.
1:22:16
Infrastructure and incentive to support adding multi use public pools and schools, development of natural water venues, including life jacket loner stations, expanded services to align with the climate action as you spoke of earlier and utilizing new technology.
1:22:37
Equitable sharing of public and private pool spaces.
1:22:41
Yes, the parts department and the Department of Education spaces, but how about residential buildings?
1:22:49
How can we open that market?
1:22:51
That's existing infrastructure that we have not been able to tap yet.
1:22:55
So if other nonprofits can utilize that space.
1:22:58
We all lift that 9,000,000 person, not that we have ahead of us, not one organization, not even a few organizations.
1:23:08
Can tackle that.
1:23:09
We all must lean in together with that.
1:23:11
And legislation to ensure resources are directed to build and maintain infrastructure education and communication campaigns.
1:23:22
Finally, we are a city of water, we are a maritime city.
1:23:27
And together, we can create a culture that prioritizes situational knowledge of water and swim skills, appropriate infrastructure, education, legislation, and funding to support the training and development of aquatic knowledge and skills.
1:23:45
Aquatics becomes relevant to all of us.
1:23:48
Via safe, equitable access to the water.
1:23:52
Cutting edge educational and public safety strategies and practices to effectively manage climate action, the blue economy and maritime opportunities.
1:24:04
Remember, you cannot be what you cannot experience nor seek.
1:24:11
Please let us help you make water safety, knowledge, and skills relevant to all New Yorkers so it may be prioritized that in every family in New York City.
1:24:23
Thank you.