In this episode of Stepping into Freedom, counselor, and author Gina Birkemeier, LPC discusses the impact of intergenerational dysfunction. The way we were parented has a profound impact on us – it’s pretty easy to “fall into” the same parenting styles that were used by our parents. Gina talks about how our beliefs and behaviors are influenced by the emotional health of our caregivers and what happens when we experience trauma in childhood. She offers a clinically informed and scripturally sound understanding of how toxic and dysfunctional childhoods impact who we are today. You can learn more about Gina, find valuable resources to aid in healing from childhood trauma, and purchase her books at her website

In this episode of Stepping into Freedom, Kristal Klear speaks on the power of our words. She discusses the importance of speaking before seeing and being intentional about shaking off shame. She outlines why it is critical to appropriately hold space for survivors to share their stories and the best ways we as a community can support survivors of sex trafficking in their healing journey. You can find out more about Kristal at www.kristalklear.org.

Bre Vigor was crowned Miss Mobile Bay in October 2019 and it was during this pageant that she shared her story for the very first time. Groomed online by a child predator, Bre endured several years of manipulation, horrendous threats, and sextortion. Since vocalizing her story and being awarded her pageant title, Bre uses her platform to challenge some of our country's most fundamental misconceptions of what online exploitation looks like.