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Safety During this Important Memorial Day Holiday Weekend
As the month of May ends, we celebrate Memorial Day, we honor those who died while serving our country in the military, and we recognize the end of Drowning Prevention Month. I realize that is quite a mesh of seemingly unrelated themes but follow me on this one. This weekend at Valley Mountain Regional Center, we honor our veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice for our country, many of whom were grandparents, parents, and other family members of people with disabilities. Though America has yet to sign the Convention on the Rights of People with Disabilities, in many ways we have still set high standards for access and antidiscrimination laws protecting people with disabilities from institutionalization and guaranteeing education among many other rights not enjoyed in other countries. The American exceptionalism as referenced by many from the 1600s (John Winthrop) through modern day (Ronald Reagan) as the aspirational city on the hill is best illustrated in our appreciation of freedom and courage which is the heart of our Memorial Day recognition.
This holiday weekend, as we gather with friends and family, water is often a big part of the fun with swimming pools, lakes, rivers, etc., so we just want to remind our community to stay diligent for the safety of our families. The California regional centers serve over 800 people who became permanently disabled because of near drowning accidents and all these accidents were preventable. As Governor Newsom reminds us that drowning can be a silent killer with no warnings so our preparation and precaution will be more effective than our alertness for splashing or cries for help.
Memorial Day is too important a holiday to not honor and enjoy. We just want to spread the word of awareness to prevent these tragedies that can be so devastating to families and communities.
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