WYANDOTTE, Mich. (WXYZ) — Victory Gym in Wyandotte is not only giving people a place to work out, but it is also giving veterans and first responders a place to conquer PTSD, and it is free. The non-profit began back in 2015.
“It’s a great place to come here, get a workout in. You can talk to your fellow comrades, some people that you may know in the community, and you just get better every single day and try to figure out how you can serve to give back to others," Army veteran and former law enforcement officer Arin Dunne said.
He calls this gym his therapy.
Victory Gym is staffed entirely by volunteers, and the non-profit's Board President, Gary Clinton, who is also a veteran, says the gym’s mission is simple.
“To conquer PTSD, and it’s through physical fitness, peer support, and camaraderie," Gary said.
Clinton says they have peer-led meetings every week at the gym.
“The meetings aren’t all doom and gloom where we sit around reopening old wounds and just talking about the trauma. sometimes we just talk about movies or our kids," Clinton said.
Dunne says he has been to a few of the meetings himself.
“It’s a lot of emotions because obviously, your first meeting isn’t going to be the easiest, you know, you’re kind of hesitant to join, you’re kind of hesitant to show up, you have that little bit of, do I have it, do I not have it but once you get here it’s just nothing but uplifting people around you, it’s people trying to help," Dunne said.
“Everyone has issues with work and life. We just want to open our arms up to the vets and first responders that feel like, I need a home; I need somewhere that I can go and be around people that can truly understand what we’re going through on a day-to-day basis,"Clinton said.
For more information on Victory Gym, click here.https://www.victorygymvhc.org/
