Stay safe in the pool
Tragedy was remembered Thursday in the hope that more heartbreak will be prevented.
Dozens of toddlers have drowned in Palm Beach County since 2005. Now officials have unveiled an anti-drowning program to keep all residents, especially children, safe in the water.
Katina Gadson, of Lake Worth, knows how it feels to lose a family member to drowning. Her 2-year-old twin cousins Harmony and Harmani West drowned in a Deerfield Beach pool last year.
With tears in her eyes, Gadson, 42, shared her story Thursday at the Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County in Boynton Beach, where officials unveiled an anti-drowning program called Water Smart Palm Beach County.
The Children’s Services Council along with more than a dozen other organizations discussed their campaign’s efforts to provide more free swimming lessons to Palm Beach County residents through community partnerships.
Gadson said she hopes the new program will keep people from feeling the sorrow she did when she lost her young cousins.
The children had wandered out of the house and were found unresponsive in their community pool by neighbors.
After Gadson heard the news, she was concerned about her then-10-year-old son’s water safety and contacted the county for help.
She received a free voucher from The Drowning Prevention Coalition of Palm Beach County.
“Water safety is not a game and kids are curious,” Gadson said at the press conference. “[Harmony and Harmani’s deaths] could have been prevented, someone should have saw them and stopped them from heading to the pool.”
On Thursday, 50 life jackets hung from the ceiling of the Children’s Services Coun-
Anna Stewart, member of The Drowning Prevention Coalition
cil in rememberance of the toddlers and preschoolers who have died in accidental drowning incidents since 2005 in Palm Beach County.
“These young lives were cut short in situations that most of the time could have been prevented,” said Lisa Williams-Taylor, chief executive officer of the Children’s Services Council of Palm Beach County.
With the warmer months on the way, officials want to help all county residents — not just children — stay safe in the water.
Pollock believes that a change can be made by promoting adult supervision, enforcing pool barriers, encouraging swim lessons and emphasizing general water safety.
“We can prevent drowning in the future,” Pollock said. “People need not be afraid of the aquatic environment we have in Palm Beach County.”
As part of the Water Smart Palm Beach County initiative, the Children’s Services Council will match up to $50,000 to help The Drowning Prevention Coalition of Palm Beach County provide six to eight swimming lessons for free, as part of a voucher program.
Anna Stewart, with The Drowning Prevention Coalition, said that the money would help more at-risk swimmers get the training that they need.
According to YMCA statistics provided by Dick Pollock, president of the YMCA South Palm Beach County, 70 percent of African-Americans, 60 percent of Hispanics and 40 percent of Caucasians do not know how to swim.
In April, with The Drowning Prevention Coalition’s $20,000 budget, Stewart was able to give out 400 free swimming vouchers for residents of Palm Beach County who qualify based on income and swimming abilities.
She said that because the demand was so high, she ran out of vouchers in four days. The program will reopen when the program receives more funding.
“Everyone needs to learn how to swim,” Stewart said. “We can’t do it by ourselves, we need your help. It is everybody’s responsibility.”
Ten-year-old Noah Norwitch, who attended the event, agrees.
Noah, of Wellington, has been on his local swim team for five years. In October, he donated more than $3,000 of his birthday money to help kids learn how to swim.
“Swimming is a life-skill,” he said at the press conference. “It’s just like riding a bike. Kids who learn to swim are kept safe and are also getting a workout.”
He was named Palm Beach County’s first Water Smart Palm Beach County hero.
“Everyone needs to learn how to swim. We can’t do it by ourselves, we need your help. It is everybody’s responsibility.”