Project Healing Waters Martinez
Project Healing Waters, Inc. (PHW) began in 2005 serving wounded military service members returning from combat in Iraq and Afghanistan at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. Since then, PHW has expanded nationwide, establishing its highly successful program in Department of Defense hospitals, Warrior Transition Units, and Veterans Affairs Medical Centers and Clinics.
Project Healing Waters helps active military service personnel and veterans in need through a dedicated, developed curriculum of fly fishing, fly casting, fly tying, and fly rod building. In 2023 alone, we helped over 6,000 participants from all service eras through the generous work of 6,500 active volunteers.
We are a leading nonprofit in the area of therapeutic outdoor recreation, using the sport of fly fishing as an intervention. The restorative healing powers of nature and the outdoors are well-documented…for our veteran and military participants, the camaraderie, connectedness, and community found in our programs, alongside the symbiotic relationship between veteran and volunteer directly correlate to increased sense of belonging, resilience, and post-traumatic growth.
One of 180 programs across the country, PHW Martinez is affiliated with the Martinez VA Outpatient Clinic and sponsored by the Diablo Valley Fly Fishing (DVFF) club in Walnut Creek. Founded in 2010, we currently have over 40 disabled veterans and active military participants of all genders, ages, races, eras of war, socioeconomic status, and disabilities. Over 30 DVFF volunteers generously give their time and fly fishing experience to support the program. In 2025 we are expanding our territory into the greater Sacramento region. This includes a PHW affiliate program in partnership with Sacramento VA Outpatient Clinics.
Fundamental to the PHW Martinez program are a series of monthly fly fishing proficiency workshops led by DVFF Volunteers. These include Foundational Fly Fishing, Entomology, Fly Casting, Fly Rod Building, Fly Tying, and Water Safety. Indoor workshops and monthly All-Hands Roundups are held on Saturday mornings at the Benicia Veterans Memorial Hall. Monthly outdoor Fly Casting workshops are held Saturday mornings at Pleasant Hill Park. DVFF volunteers also offer a Friends on the Water program which pairs PHW veterans with DVFF club members to fish together on a wide range of local waters.
PHW Martinez also sponsors group overnight Fly Fishing Outings year-round at a number of magical healing waters across Northern California, Oregon, and Nevada. Project Healing Waters HQ sponsors PHW National Outings at Freedom Ranch for Heroes in Montana and Oak Heart Lodge in Michigan. These outings are the lifeblood of healing for our disabled participants and are made possible with the generous outpouring of financial support from our community of donors. We depend heavily on major grants, cash donations, and our annual PHW NorCal auction to cover these costs for our deserving veterans and volunteers.
Our goal is to provide a lifelong rehabilitative pastime for disabled participants through all things fly fishing. PHW Martinez participants are able to work through their physical and emotional limitations in an environment of patience and camaraderie while learning an engrossing new activity that can help them find peace for the rest of their lives. They form lifetime friendships with fellow disabled veterans, PHW leaders, and DVFF volunteers in an atmosphere of safety, trust, and understanding. “We are passionate about those we heal, and that passion is shared by those whose lives have changed forever.”
“I am so grateful … so, so grateful for this community. Anything that brings vets together for shared mission, experience, and stories is priceless. These stories save lives.”
“It’s hard to explain how the camaraderie brings us closer. But we all shared the love and respect of one another. I think we enjoyed the peace that fly fishing has brought to us. I know it has brought peace to me.”