Water safety event at Capitol emphasizes use of life jackets

In recognition of Water Safety Month, members of the Missouri Alliance of YMCAs hosted a brief event on the Missouri Capitol steps Monday to bring attention to the issue. Kelly Schultz of the alliance joined YMCA lifeguard and swim instructor Lynn Schillers and Eleanor Hussey, a member of the YMCA Barracuda swim team, as they placed 46 lifejackets on the steps to represent the number of lives lost last year in non-boating incidents. (Julie Smith/News Tribune photo)
In recognition of Water Safety Month, members of the Missouri Alliance of YMCAs hosted a brief event on the Missouri Capitol steps Monday to bring attention to the issue. Kelly Schultz of the alliance joined YMCA lifeguard and swim instructor Lynn Schillers and Eleanor Hussey, a member of the YMCA Barracuda swim team, as they placed 46 lifejackets on the steps to represent the number of lives lost last year in non-boating incidents. (Julie Smith/News Tribune photo)


Activists spread 46 life jackets on the state Capitol steps late Monday morning to raise awareness of the number of Missourians who drown every year.

The life jackets, donations from Bass Pro Shops, were available for the public to pick up at the end of the rally.

Presented by the Missouri Alliance of YMCAs, Bass Pro Shops and Kids Win Missouri, the 23rd annual Missouri Water Safety Event occurred from 10 a.m.-noon on the south steps of the Capitol.

Drowning is the No. 1 cause of preventable deaths for children ages 1-4 and fifth-leading cause of unintentional injury death in the United States, according to a YMCA news release. Missouri averages more than 46 non-boating drownings per year.

The annual Missouri Boating Statistics & Drownings (2021 edition, containing stats through 2020) showed there were 51 drownings statewide in 2020, 62 in 2019, 34 in 2018, 59 in 2017 and 38 in 2016. The report can be found at bit.ly/3wM0QWE.

Furthermore, the data show most 2020 drownings occurred on Saturdays and Sundays, and a high percentage of them occurred between noon-8 p.m.

Also, nine drownings happened in private waters, six in the Mississippi River, four in the Missouri River and three in the Meramec River.

The YMCA reports there are "dramatic disparities" in the demographics of drowning victims.

Per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it stated, Black children (ages 5-18) were almost six times as likely to drown in a swimming pool as white children.

Drowning is the leading cause of death of children with autism spectrum disorder. They are 160 times more likely to die from drowning than other children, the YMCA release said.

Lynn Schillers, a lifeguard and swim instructor at Jefferson City Area Knowles YMCA, said it is important to her to teach everybody about water safety.

"I love making sure that kids are safe. They can start off in our swim lessons when they are 6 months old," Schillers said.

About 2,000 children take lessons at the local YMCA annually. Classes are available year round, she said. Classes are offered through adult ages.

"Access to a pool, swim lessons and safety around water courses reduce the risk of drowning by nearly 90 percent," the YMCA release said. "As 'America's Swim Instructor,' the Y teaches more than 1 million children and families invaluable water safety and swimming skills each year."