Free YMCA swim lessons aim to improve water safety for Connecticut children
Families in Connecticut are being encouraged to prioritize swim lessons as summer temperatures rise and more children head to pools, lakes, and rivers. The YMCA of Greater Hartford has offered free swim lessons to 1,000 children through nonprofit grant funding, while advocates continue to push for expanded access across the state.
YMCA leaders say learning water safety and survival skills can help prevent drowning tragedies, which can happen within seconds.
For parents like Granby resident Trent Hewitson, swim lessons are essential.
“Being in the water is such a huge part of summers here in Connecticut,” he said.
Hewitson takes his children to the Farmington Valley YMCA in Granby for lessons every week.
“It’s critical to be in the water safely and enjoy it,” he said.
The YMCA of Greater Hartford says demand for swim lessons remains high, with thousands of children learning water safety skills each year.
YMCA swim instructor Morgan Siegel said lessons focus on practical skills children can use in emergencies.
“Starfish float on their back if they’re too tired. Immediately grabbing the wall. How to keep their face in the water and out of the water,” she said.
YMCA of Greater Hartford President and CEO Jim O’Rourke said grant funding has allowed the organization to provide free lessons to 1,000 children.
“It’s so important, especially for the parents, to understand to make sure their kids are safe around water, and also the parent is the first lifeguard,” he said.
O’Rourke also advocated for legislation during the most recent legislative session to expand free swim lessons statewide. The bill did not receive a vote.
He said a previous state investment helped more than 4,500 children receive swim lessons at no cost to their families.
“It’s important that they do have access to swim lessons,” O’Rourke said.
The push for expanded access comes as drowning incidents continue to affect communities across Connecticut.
According to a report from the Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate, nearly 65% of children who drowned in Connecticut between 2011 and 2018 were Black or Hispanic.
Siegel said teaching children water safety skills at a young age can have lasting benefits.
“We’re just giving them the skills that they’re going to use and need when they go into the real world,” said Siegel.
O’Rourke said increasing access to free swim lessons could help address disparities and improve water safety outcomes statewide. He plans to seek state funding again next year.
“Allowing any child access to swim lessons throughout the state, not just at the YMCA, the Boys and Girls Clubs, and our community centers, is so vital,” he said.
Hewitson said that while his family can afford swim lessons, he believes every child should have the same opportunity.
“Having that in everybody’s reach, it would be great for the whole community.”
Any parent in the Greater Hartford area interested in having their child take swim lessons can find information from the YMCA here. Those same parents wanting information on enrolling their child for free lessons is encouraged to call the YMCA of Greater Hartford at 860-522-4183 during normal business hours.
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