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When people think about drowning prevention, they usually picture life jackets, swimming lessons, and warning signs at the water's edge. Those things matter - a lot. But there's a piece of the prevention picture that doesn't get talked about nearly enough, and it starts long before anyone steps near the water. According to King County Public Health, between 60 and 70 percent of drowning deaths in King County involved drugs or alcohol. Let that land for a moment. In the majority of cases, the critical decision point wasn't at the shoreline - it was on dry land, hours earlier, when someone made a choice about what to consume before heading to the lake. This is where Influence the Choice's work and LakeSafe Initiative's work meet. And it's why we're proud to be partners.  Washington State Parks Event - Mudra Machewad with Jessica Schafer, Kevin Goodrich, and Julie Davies Substances Don't Stay on Land Alcohol impairs judgment, coordination, and reaction time - three things that matter enormously around open water. Cannabis, despite its reputation as low-risk, also affects the same systems. Reaction time slows. Spatial awareness shifts. Confidence can increase even as actual physical capability decreases. On a boat, at the water's edge, or while swimming in a lake, that gap between perceived ability and real ability can be fatal. For young people especially, the stakes are higher. Adolescent brains are still developing - and substance use during those years has a greater and longer-lasting impact than use that begins in adulthood. The same vulnerabilities that make substance use riskier for teens generally make it riskier at the water specifically. ITC has spent years helping young people understand that the choice happens before the moment - before the party, before the lake trip, before the pressure kicks in. That upstream framing is exactly the same logic that drives LakeSafe Initiative's prevention model. What LakeSafe Initiative Is Building LakeSafe Initiative (lakesafeinitiative.org | @lakesafeinitiative) is a youth-led, multi-agency drowning prevention effort founded in September 2025 by Mudra Machewad, a sophomore at Skyline High School in Sammamish. It was born in the wake of a drowning tragedy at Lake Sammamish State Park - a lake where families from across the Eastside gather every summer weekend - and guided by one mission: Every Lake. Every Life. LakeSafe's four core programs target the gaps that appear most often before open-water incidents occur: multilingual safety signage at lake access points, loaner life jacket stations during peak season, visible shoreline rescue equipment, and community education that reaches families across language and geography. In less than a year, 18+ organizations have joined - including Washington State Parks, King County Public Health, Seattle Children's Hospital, Eastside Fire & Rescue, and the Sammamish Community YMCA - and the initiative has connected with over 5,000 community members. Influence the Choice is part of that network because drowning prevention and substance use prevention aren't two separate conversations. They're one conversation - and the community needs to hear both.
Being the one who says "leave the drinks at home" or "grab a life jacket" before anyone reaches the water is an act of leadership - the same kind of leadership ITC's TECH students practice every day. And if you're a parent, caregiver, or educator: the conversation about substances and water safety is one conversation, not two. Starting it early - and making it specific - is one of the most protective things you can do before summer season begins.
If you or someone you know is looking for substance use prevention resources, click here for ITC's community resources. By Mudra Machewad, Youth Advisor, Influence the Choice
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