SALEM, Va. (WFXR) — The poet Henry David Thoreau once wrote, “Many go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after.”
Sometimes what they gain, without realizing it, is healing.
That is the premise Project Healing Waters operates from. Project Healing Waters (PHW) helps active military members and military veterans through flyfishing. The organization works with veterans groups and Veterans Administration hospitals around the country, taking them on flyfishing outings and teaching them how to tie flies.
Flyfishing gives the veterans a chance to decompress in a peaceful setting, while practicing repetitive motion and focus. It also allows them to share their experiences with other veterans.
The Roanoke Valley chapter is assisted by volunteers who work with the veterans on the water.
Seyward McKinney is a local veteran who works with and is helped by Project Healing Waters. An Iraq War vet, McKinney is paralyzed on one side of her body, and she is legally blind in one eye.