A WAY OPEN TO HELP GAMBLERS AND THEIR FAMILIES PROBLEM GAMBLING CENTER PROVIDE EFFICIENT SERVICES
Chinese Times 3/31/01
Before gamblers or their families sigh in midnight when gambling has led to broken families and occupational failure, one should keep in mind a phone number that could help; that is, the Problem Gambling Counseling Hotline: 1-888-968-7888. A problem gambling service center has already been formed to provide practical solutions for gamblers and their families.
The NICOS Chinese Health Coalition President, Dr. Evelyn Lee, gave an introduction on their anti-gambling counseling services during the "When One Person is Addicted to Gambling, the Whole Family Suffers" press conference on March 30th. Starting January 2001, NICOS has been educating the community about problem gambling. They had posters all over the city, and advertisements on TV and radio as well. The result has been tremendous.
Dr. Lee said, " We do not oppose playing mahjong or buying lottery tickets as a form of entertainment, rather, we are opposed to addictive gambling". Base on a survey that was done on 1,800 respondents a few years ago, one third of domestic violence cases were cause by gambling; and a great number of Chinese respondents claimed to gamble at least once a week. At the same time, 70% of the respondents agree that there is a strong need for anti-gambling counseling services. Dr. Lee pointed out that gambling was not a new problem, nor a unique problem that only Asians and minorities had. This is an issue that all levels of the community are concerned, but the government and community agencies have not done a good job on education and counseling.
Clinical psychologist Dr. Eddie Chiu expressed that not everybody who gambled needs help.
There are 3 kinds of gamblers who need help:
1. 90% of all gamblers see gambling as a kind of entertainment, and only 2% to 6% of them are problem gamblers who need help. The ratio of Chinese among them is higher than other ethnicity. These problem gamblers are totally out of control. They think about casinos when they are at home, at work or at school. They are totally addicted.
2. Some gamblers think that they could solve their financial problems or escape from anxieties by gambling. The more they gamble, the more they bet, and the more deeply they are addicted to gambling. Therefore, they come to a point where they could not stop gambling by their own will power.
3. Some gamblers lose their families and businesses because of gambling. In Chinatown, there were quite a few cases where gamblers lost their restaurants and businesses because of gambling.
Sister Yeung from the St. Mary's Chinese Center and Mrs. Shen-Zhoung from the Cameron House spoke on the issues that gamblers and their families faced. They have also established a Gamblers' Families Support Group. Problem gamblers are welcome to attend. The phone number is (415) 929-4823.