Guernsey Press

Charity In-Dependence to back review into problem gambling

THE Guernsey charity In-dependence is ready to support a review into problem gambling that will investigate anecdotal evidence the addiction is a growing problem in the island.

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Business manager at In-dependence, formerly Drug Concern, Tracey Rear. (Picture by Adrian Miller, 24777776)

Health & Social Care will carry out the report into the different types of gambling, including online and scratch cards.

In the meantime the charity Drug Concern has relaunched under the new name In-dependence and from this week it is helping gambling addicts alongside its traditional work with addicts of drugs and alcohol.

Business manager at In-dependence, Tracey Rear, said they can treat addiction in all its forms.

‘The Guernsey Gamblers Support Group has said there’s a real issue with gambling, and Health & Social Care say they can’t do anything until they’ve done a needs assessment, and we thought, well, we have the infrastructure and the training to be able to respond to this. We don’t need to make any big changes, so we’ve said we can extend our services. We can also contribute to the needs assessment. Over a year or two we can give them data about the people that we’ve come into contact with.’

First established in 1991 as a telephone helpline, the charity has steadily expanded the range of services it offers and Mrs Rear said the re-brand will reflect their wide remit

‘It was felt that our name has been a barrier to people coming forward because I think the perception out there is that you have to be a hardcore drug user before you can come and see us and that isn’t the case, we do early intervention work.

‘A lot of people don’t even know that we work with alcohol users so we felt the time was right to have a branding overhaul.’

She added: ‘We want to keep the momentum and stay relevant in today’s society where addiction comes in so many forms.’

In-dependence has around 60 to 70 clients at any one time, with service users being predominantly people who suffer from alcohol abuse or prescribed opiates.

Over the past year, there has been a spike in clients who are struggling with addiction to performance-enhancing drugs such, as steroids and testosterone.

Recovery from problematic substance abuse and gambling can be incredibly difficult and Mrs Rear outlined how they can help people.

‘We run a licensed recovery programme and it looks at motivation. It looks at people’s values and how those values may have changed over time so the behaviour becomes much more consuming than what was important to them.

‘It’s based on cognitive behaviour techniques where people come, they do the group work, and they take away the tools to apply in every day life.

‘So it’s not that you come to a session and we do something and it makes you better, it’s about teaching tools so that when people walk out they can use the tools to make good decisions.’

In-dependence aims to be a welcoming brand which does not discriminate or alienate people who need help.

n The charity is urging anyone who is concerned about their gambling to contact them and it has worked with the UK charity GamCare to set up a free helpline number for Guernsey on 0800 138 6522.

The anonymous helpline is available between 8am and midnight.