In the wake of recent drownings in Southern New England come statistics about minority children and swimming.
A study by the University of Memphis shows many African-American and Hispanic children don't know how to swim.
Staff members at the YMCA said Wednesday they are all too familiar with the study. They are working to teach minority children the skills they need to stay safe in the water.
Two young cousins were found floating in a Providence public pool last year. One child survived, but the other died. Both were said to be inexperienced swimmers, and both were African-American.
"They'll think that it's shallow, and they're at a zero entry. But all of a sudden, the water can change," said Cindy McDermott, vice president of strategic initiatives at the Cranston YMCA.
According to the study, 69 percent of black children and 58 percent of Hispanic children either have low or no swimming ability.
"We have to do something about that because their Caucasian counterparts, it's nearly double. There's definitely some inequity," McDermott said.
In the study, both parents and children gave the top two reasons for not swimming. They listed those as parental fear and lack of parental encouragement.
"They're saying, I don't want to pay for swimming lessons and go for swimming lessons because I'm going to sit there and be in fear the entire time and have heart palpitations and I'm worried that my child is going to be scared the whole time, so it's really not worth the time or the money," McDermott said.
Eleven-year-old twins Diedra and Destiny Deas are two weeks into swimming lessons at the Y. They admit knowing how to swim isn't a priority in their family or community.
McDermott said USA Swimming and the YMCA are sponsoring a nationwide tour by African-American Olympic gold medalist swimmer Cullen Jones to promote the importance of swimming.
The Y is also building relationships with public schools as a way to reach out to parents and children about learning how to swim.
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