The Stranded Canoeist

Imagine being on a canoe trip — paddling across a quiet lake — and spotting someone stranded at a campsite, waving for help.

Most of us wouldn’t hesitate. We’d paddle over, assess the situation, and when we realized they were truly stuck, we’d help them into our canoe and bring them to safety. It would be instinctual. Natural. Human.

And yet, in our modern “civilized” societies, this same impulse often fades. We walk past people stranded on the streets — those with little more than the clothes on their backs and a cardboard sign — and somehow convince ourselves there’s nothing we can do.

But there is something we can do. We can stop. We can listen. We can offer warmth, safety, or even a simple kind word. Because just like the paddler waving for help, each person lost in the wilderness of life is waiting for someone to notice — to care — to offer them a place in their canoe.

At Healing Havens, we believe that no one should be left stranded. Every person deserves a place to rest, recover, and rebuild their strength before they continue their journey.