Through the Merpeople project and having a young child struggling to find affordable swim lessons, I became aware that swim safety education is not accessible equally to all. Living on the barrier peninsula of NYC being witness to an average of seven deaths per summer season is unexceptable and needs legislation to change that. If we have fire safety in our schools, why not a mandated swim safety education for a city surrounded by water. I have become an advocate of programs who go beyond the swim lesson but wanting to bring positive social change to underserved communities through the aquatic experience. Rising Tide Effect  is a 501(c) (3) and was created to uplift people experiencing socio economic hardship by providing frameworks THROUGH SWIMMING for not only education and safety but also personal development.