NJ beach closed to swimmers in 2023 due to lifeguard shortage

BEACHWOOD, N.J. (PIX11) - Sara Ferreira and her family moved to Beachwood last year and love the borough's beach.

But in a message on the borough website from the mayor and borough council, the beach is closed to swimmers this year due to a lifeguard shortage.

"It's very disappointing," said Ferreira. "It's a small community, but it was always full of people."

Still, they made the best of the day. "I brought a little inflatable pool at least," said Ferreira.

According to the borough website, for months they posted lifeguard job openings on social media and their website, and they even reached out to local high schools for candidates. What their efforts yielded them was only one application.

It's a problem that spans far beyond Beachwood. In Somerset County, the Park Commission has upped the pay to $20 an hour along with free training to fill lifeguard positions at the Warrenbrook Pool. These are just a couple of examples across the nation of empty pools and beaches.

"I question if it's the students that were the ones who were doing it all along," said longtime Beachwood resident Toni Trulby. "Have they gotten better offers or they're just taking the summer off before going back to school?"

"It's sad to not see a lot people here," said beach visitor Sean Dunleavy. 

Jay Boyd, the chief of lifeguards in Seaside Heights, said many who start out lifeguarding go on to have amazing careers.

"We've probably had a dozen lifeguards come through here who've become Jersey troopers," said Boyd. "We've had a lot of local police officers, we have doctors, we have lifeguards who've become nurses, we have them who still come to work and lifeguard even though they are nurses."

Boyd said to protect and save others is priceless.

"It's a once in a lifetime that you're going to save someone's life," said Boyd. "Not everybody has that opportunity. You're going to save someone's life and that feeling, you'll never get over."