AP Diaz Talks Swim Seattle's Mission to Eradicate Youth Drowning Disparities
(Photos by Cydney Stephens)
By Lorcan Stokes
AP Diaz, Superintendent of Seattle Parks and Recreation, recently sat down with host Trae Holiday on a "The Day With Trae" segment to discuss Swim Seattle, an innovative pilot program spearheaded by the department. Uniting various organizations throughout the Northwest, this initiative strives to dismantle barriers to swimming education and address the alarming disparity in drowning rates among youth of color, something Diaz highlights as the critical importance of this initiative, particularly due to Seattle's unique geography.
"We're a city of water. You look at the map, [and] there's water to the left, right, front, and back. Still today, in 2024, [a] disproportionate amount of drownings are occurring among our Black and brown communities," Diaz said. "This is unacceptable. Swimming is a life skill, not something that should be a 'nice to have, or can I afford it for my kids?' It's something we have a duty to teach each person how to do."
The program's primary focus lies in communities where children frequently lack the opportunity to learn swimming, often because their parents themselves never acquired this skill. Diaz emphasized that his research shows that the absence of parental swimming knowledge perpetuates a cycle of limited water education across generations.
"Some of the things new parents love to do when they have kids is to sign up for a mommy and me or a daddy and me class. They go to the pool; it's bonding, it's fun, and that's the beginning of a swim journey," Diaz said. "But for many people, if you've never even learned how to swim, the water is a fearful thing. Some people can't even put their foot in the water, so they're missing out on that experience and [are] not able to teach their children how to swim."
Diaz emphasized the compounded risks resulting from this intergenerational lack of swimming skills, including the deaths of relatives who may try to save their children from drowning due to their inexperience in swimming. Swim Seattle, launched in 2023, addresses this issue by offering annual free lessons to many youth. The initiative aims to expand access to swimming education by targeting families with financial needs, including those in the Seattle school system's free or reduced lunch program. A key focus is teaching essential swimming skills for pools, lakes, and ocean environments.
"I'm Latino. I'm Mexican American. I had a cousin named Steven, who went away on a family trip with some neighbors, went camping, and Steven never came back because he fell [into] a lake and drowned," Diaz said.
He continued, "I can't tell you how many people I've met, still today, if I'm talking to someone from a Black or brown community, it is likely they have a Steven story. They know someone in their family that has drowned even today in 2024 and that's what we're trying to stop is preventing those drownings by offering these free swim lessons and encouraging as many people as possible to come out."
A report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reveals a similar story: drowning death rates among Black individuals exceed those of their White counterparts, particularly pronounced among Black children aged 5-9 and 10-14, with rates 2.6 and 3.6 times higher, respectively, compared to their White peers. Even more alarming is the disparity observed within swimming pools, where Black children aged 10-14 face drowning rates 7.6 times higher than their White counterparts.
"On the lake, it seems beautiful and tranquil on the top. But there are a lot of things below that can pull people in and get murky, and teaching people to calm in situations of fright is important because if you can calm your body a little bit to learn how to stay afloat, to give a signal for help, maybe there will be somebody around that will come and help you," Diaz said. "But those seconds are critical when you find yourself in danger to sometimes just take a breath, learn how to use your jacket if you have one on or floaters or just tread water for a little bit. But oftentimes, the fear and panic of something so dramatic can literally just take you under."
In response to the critical concerns raised by Diaz and highlighted by the CDC, Swim Seattle is taking proactive steps to address problems. Registration for beginner swim lessons for scholarship-eligible participants opens on May 14, 2024, and to the general public on May 21, 2024. Additionally, a Water Safety workshop will take place on May 18 at Rainier Beach Community Center where expert instructors will provide training for navigating water safely and responding to emergencies.
Diaz's hope for the program is that it continues raising awareness about the disproportionate drowning rates among youth of color and continuously expands to reach more individuals while simultaneously dismantling the stigma associated with lacking swimming skills, especially among adults.
"A lot of adults have some shame if they say they don't know how to swim. I've been in some very safe spaces and with some very high-level people in this city, that when we're talking, I'll get them to finally, or they will on their own, raise their hand and say, 'You know what, I don't know how to swim," Diaz said. "You would never think that because this person is successful in so many ways, has been educated, has gotten the job, done all the right things in life, and we just assume that somewhere you're going to learn how to swim."
Discover more about Seattle Parks and Recreation's Swim Seattle here. Want to enroll your child? Check here for step-by-step instructions and eligibility criteria.
"We have the pools, we have instructors, and that's what we want to do. Start inviting people, reminding them about safety [and] how it really is important to keep an eye on your kids at all times around water because it can happen so fast," Diaz said. "And then really just be able to show success stories by getting people who know how to swim, and then hopefully someone will come back and say, 'I'd love to help someone learn how to swim too."
To stay update on news happening throughout King County, tune into Trae every weekday at 11 a.m. on all Converge Media platforms and The Day With Trae YouTube Channel.
