There is a peace to be found in rivers and streams. When I’m hiking or camping, if the option exists, I want my tent near the sound of a flowing river, stream, or babbling brook. It’s the sound of relaxation for me, even artificially, as it’s the sound I most often opt for when using a sleep sound machine.

The sound and feel of rivers and streams is, without a doubt, one of the reasons that I have fallen in love with fly fishing. As I have written before, each time that I leave the water after a day of fly fishing, I feel changed, and catching a trout in the process is simply a beautiful bonus.

In the words of author John Gierach, “I believe that the solution to any problem–work, love, money, whatever–is to go fishing, and the worse the problem, the longer the trip should be.” Fly fishing allows an escape from the worries of life, a time to rest, recover, and, for many, a time to heal.

A quick Google search of the healing powers of fly fishing reveals the benefits of being on the water with fly rod in hand for groups ranging from first responders and disabled veterans to abused and abandoned adults and children.

During a recent fly fishing trip with the Lodge at Palisades Creek in Irwin, ID, I had the opportunity to learn more about one such organization based close to home in Birmingham, AL.

On River Time was founded in 2012 by Steve Davis “with a mission to help children of abuse and neglect.”

The non-profit currently partners with Big Oak Ranch in Alabama, Palmer Home for Children and Homes of Hope for Children in Mississippi, and Still Creek Ranch in Texas to provide, in the words of Executive Director Wendy Garner, “A once in a lifetime experience for children that have suffered abuse and neglect.”

In founding On River Time, Davis, himself a victim of abuse as a child, sought to provide the young people they served with the peace and clarity he had discovered through fly fishing on the Snake River. According to Garner, in 2012 Davis met with John Croyle the director of Big Oak Ranch in Alabama to share his story and, afterwards, he asked if he could take a group of kids and chaperones fly fishing so they, in turn, could experience what he had experienced on the river.

Since that first trip ten years ago, On River Time has been busy impacting children’s lives. As Garner explained, On River Time’s “Fish On!” camp provides an opportunity to tell each child, “You’re not defined by what happened to you. You can have hope and a future and there are bright days ahead.”

The camp consists of two days of fly fishing on the Snake River with The Lodge at Palisades Creek followed by a day of whitewater rafting and a day trip to Grand Teton National Park.

“We try to give them a world class trip and it’s fun, but there are also a lot of moments where we go deep and talk about things and let them know that they have worth and value and love and that God has a plan for their lives,” said Garner, adding, “It’s a beautiful experience.”

In addition to the fly fishing experience in Idaho and the adventures in Wyoming, the group also provides year-round programming for the 18-22 year olds who are transitioning from each of the homes into college and career through their SOAR program.

SOAR, which stands for Success, Opportunity, Attitude, and Resilience, is a life skills program with topics and instruction ranging from etiquette classes and how to write thank you notes to communication and job interview skills, résumé writing, and mock interviews.

“We focus on practical life skills to help prepare them for success as independent adults,” said Garner. The organization also provides year round mentoring as well as college and career scholarships to help enable that success.

The numbers about the abuse of children speak volumes. According to data on the On River Time website: 1 in 7 children has experienced abuse or neglect this past year with 2.9 million cases of child abuse reported every year in the United States and the likelihood of an abused child being arrested as a juvenile is 59%, furthermore, they are 30% more likely to commit a violent crime.

Steve Davis has a vision to impact these numbers, a vision that came through fly fishing. In his words, “My soul was lifted on this river and I wanted to be able to share that experience with these kids.”

If you would like to take part in helping with that vision, visit www.onrivertime.org and donate. Until next time, here’s to On River Time and the work they do with abused and neglected children, here’s to being changed by the river, and here’s to seeing you out there in our great outdoors.

Email outdoors columnist Brad Dye at braddye@comcast.net.