Youth Forum - Young People: Gambling and Problem Gambling

Yesterday GG attended the Young People: Gambling and Problem Gambling youth forum held by the Gambler's Help Youth Action Group (YAG) and the Youth Affairs Council of Victoria (YACVIC).

A full conference hall saw the Victorian Minister of Community Services, Cheryl Garbutt launch the long awaited G-PACK youth gambling resource kit. This kit which is available from Gambler's Help Southern (PDFs will soon be available on the GH Southern website) is a great resource for young people or those involved with young people such as youth workers, and school welfare workers. It has a wide range of information on gambling specifically targeted at the needs of a youth audience.

A feature of the forum was the screening of a video of Jade, a young woman who has experienced problem gambling and with the help of a counsellor at Gambler's Help conquered her problem. She shared how gambling affected her and her thoughts on what could be done about it. This was a courageous thing to do and she should be commended for it.

Also speaking were Heather Secomb, a Student Welfare Coordinator, who talked about her experiences with students affected by their own gambling or the gambling of a family member. She stressed that gambling is a problem with youth but workers just aren't looking for it.

Heather was followed by Prof. Alun Jackson from Melbourne University who presented the results of research in youth gambling worldwide. The statistics are significant and his notes will be put on the GH Southern website when available.

Overall it was a highly successful morning and congratulations have to go to YAG and YACVIC for putting youth gambling back on the agenda. A special congratulations to Gambler's Help Southern's own YAG member Tracey Collins who has put in significant effort over many years to get G-PACK to its final result.

GG