Robin Borlandoe, a grandmother from Philadelphia, reportedly became a lifeguard after being retired in the midst of a nationwide lifeguard shortage where only 50 of 65 public pools are open this summer in order to help kids get off the Philadelphia streets. 

“I was a lifeguard when I was 16 and loved it,” Borlandoe told NBC Nightly News. “I decided to finally do it to do something for our kids, our community.”

She said that she decided to take up the job to give kids a refuge place to go after she watched a shooting take place just outside her house.

“When you see it, it’s scary,” she expressed. “And it’s very sad.”

Three kids were killed in the incident. 

Borlandoe, at age 70, has three children of her own and even more grandkids. The shooting that happened isn’t the only one of its kind. It’s reported that nearly 100 children have been harmed in gun-related violence in Philly just this year. She said that it was because “they have no place to go.”

The grandmother explained, “The pools are closed all around.

She wanted to do only one thing when becoming a lifeguard, and she was motivated by it; even when Borlandoe failed the lifeguard test on her first attempt, she kept going until she passed.

“[I] “just to do something, no matter how small, to help out.” 

“I’m very much committed to this. This is my reputation. This is my community.”

In just this year alone in Philly, there have been 1,049 non-fatal incidents of gun violence and 273 fatal victims as of July 19, 2022. 21% of all the fatal victims were under the age of 20, and 448 of all the shootings took place midday before sundown, according to the Mapping Philly Gun Violence Crisis website. 

The goal of the website is to “[serve] As the independent […] watchdog for the City of Philadelphia, it is the mission of the City Controller to promote the effective and efficient operation of Philadelphia government by identifying cost savings, recommending best practices and modernization, and exposing fraud and mismanagement.”