My first love was toxic and abusive and began at ground zero of a pedophile scandal: Child gymnast
I endured Larry Nassar, John Geddert and the terrifying culture of youth gymnastics. Some days I am strong. But every day I am surviving.
Trinea Gonczar
Opinion contributor Once a gymnast, always a gymnast,” they say. I hold that close to my heart. From the time I was 8 to when I turned 17, I trained on “the team, an extremely competitive, handpicked group of elite gymnasts who represented the Great Lakes Gymnastics Club in Lansing, Michigan.
Parents would drive from hours away and spend nights in hotels, or with other families, in order to have their gymnasts practice there with John Geddert, the legendary coach who would lead the USA Women’s Gymnastic Team to a gold medal at the 2012 Olympics. In the early 1990s, after he had a falling out with the owners of Great Lakes Gymnastics Club, most of those parents would follow John to his newly formed Twistars Gymnastics Clu
How legendary coach John Geddert set the table for Larry Nassar freep.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from freep.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Avalon Healing Center offers hope, resources for sexual assault survivors
By Hilary Golston and David Komer online producer
Published
Avalon Healing Center provides hope to sexual violence survivors
The non-profit has helped more than 17,000 survivors of sexual violence. They are on a mission to help and make sure people know they’re here. They also provide counseling, court and other legal advocacy and community education and so much more. I was one of those survivors that was in need of support no idea where to go. what was available to us, said Gonczar.
But then she found what’s now called the Avalon Healing Center. She deeply understands how critical the support services they provide for those who’ve been victimized by sexual violence.