(WBBM NEWSRADIO) — Dave Benjamin is trying to reduce the numbers of drownings in Lake Michigan and the wider Great Lakes Region — especially among children.
"Drowning is the second leading cause of accidental death for children under the age of 15, but for children under 4 it's the leading cause of death. It's a huge problem that gets very little attention, gets very little funding," said Benjamin, executive director of the Great Lakes Surf Rescue Project.
He said schools, which already do a variety of safety training with children, could do more to promote water safety.
"In schools today we do have fire drills and tornado drills and school shooter drills. We even have earthquake drills in many states, including Illinois and Indiana, and there has not been a fatal earthquake in my lifetime. But my son's doing earthquake drills and we live in Homewood, Illinois.
“And they have zero water safety education in the schools.”
Benjamin says schools are just the tip of the iceberg, given the seriousness of the problem.
"Drowning’s a public health issue and should be treated like other public health issues, like say coronavirus or West Nile virus," he said.
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