“Everyone says it, but it is really true for our veterans: trout don’t live in ugly places.”
Joe Cresta didn’t hesitate when asked why fly fishing is such an effective avenue for helping veterans. Cresta is the New England Regional Coordinator and Chair of Project Healing Waters‘ Advisory Council. PHW is a country-wide, fly fishing-focused nonprofit that seeks to facilitate the emotional and physical wellbeing of veterans. “But there’s a lot more to it than being outside and catching fish,” he continued.
“For so many of us, life goes from 100 miles an hour to zero when we return to civilian life. We enjoyed the structure of the service; outside of that feels like the wild west. We enjoyed the camaraderie of the military; we don’t always have that anymore.”
PHW was founded in 2005 to serve wounded service members at Walter Reed Medical Center who recently returned from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. Since then it has expanded to over 200 programs which work with veterans from the Korean War to those who come home from duty today. Knowing that not all wounds are visible, the only requirement for participation is a disability rating from the VA or a referral from a doctor.
“Once they’re in,” Cresta says, “they get that structure and brotherhood that they’ve been missing.”
A significant aspect of that structure is the multi-faceted fly fishing program of PHW. Participants are offered angling education, fly casting instruction, fly tying classes, rod building workshops, and fishing trips. Across the variety of activities, they are able to engage in different ways. Staying focused and staying busy is a great pathway to improving as an angler. It also has significant benefits for those struggling with physical rehabilitation or emotional issues related to the battlefield.
“One of the most common phrases, something I hear all the time is that this program saved my life,” Cresta says. “We aren’t a one-and-done program. People get involved with Project Healing Waters as strangers and become a family. The peace they get from fly fishing and from fly fishing together really brings healing.”
The value and effectiveness of PHW is reflected in the various investments people make in the program. Fly fishing companies big and small donate and support PHW. Families of veterans and regular anglers volunteer to do everything from teach fly tying to cook at gatherings. And over 70 percent of participants stay involved and invested in PHW.
“I first saw a short clip about Project Healing Waters on ESPN,” Cresta says. “That was 11 years ago. I started up a program, as a Marine Corps veteran, in Saugus (north of Boston) and it took off from there. It works because it works. And because everyone knows a veteran. Whether they fish or like the outdoors or not, it is worth trying. So I just encourage people to spread the word. That is how the program grows, but more importantly that is how our veterans get the healing that they need.”
Learn more about Project Healing Waters, and find out how you can get involved or refer a veteran, on their website.