(WXYZ) — May is National Water Safety Month, and in an effort to reduce drowning risks, the Huron-Clinton Metroparks is offering free swim lessons.
See Carli Petrus' story in the video below
Those lessons give everyone in Southeast Michigan a chance to enjoy all the Great Lakes State has to offer.
It's also important to keep people safe and make sure everyone can enjoy the beaches and pools.
Drownings take thousands of lives every year across the U.S., and in Southeast Michigan, Amy McMillan with the Metroparks said one life lost to a drowning is one too many.
“May is Water Safety Month and even though it doesn’t look like it today, in the next couple of weeks, people will be getting back into the water," she said.
That's why the Metroparks, along with partners, offer free swimming lessons through the "Everyone in the Pool" initiative. They reached more than 3,000 adults and children last year alone.
"Now, we have partners in all five counties. They include he Y, they include some school districts, they include some friends groups," McMillan said.
It's a program that Oakland County Sheriff Michael Bouchard believes is vital to the area.
“We have 450 navigable lakes in Oakland County with the largest marine division in the state, so we have a lot to cover, but that means there are a lot of fun places to go, but do it safely," Bouchard said.
In Oakland County last year, there were 11 drowning deaths, a significant increase from 2023 when there were only three.
State lawmakers recently introduced a bill to require water safety education in Michigan schools.
“So it would be a water safety expert coming up with a curriculum through the Department of Heath and Human Services and then offering it as an opportunity for schools to teach it in health class," State Rep. Donni Steele said.
Steele said the bill was just presented to the state house last week.
"It's just really important information to get out there," McMillan said.
