TORONTO, Nov. 17, 2014 – Today, CAMH’s Problem Gambling Institute of
Ontario launched five new multilingual
web sites for people experiencing gambling problems. Individuals who speak
French, Polish, Spanish, Simplified Chinese or Traditional Chinese and have
concerns about their own or someone else’s gambling can now access anonymous,
free, online tools at any time. These sites are the newest addition to
ProblemGambling.ca’s popular English language self-help tools which went live in
2012.
The availability of ProblemGambling.ca’s new language resources
coincides with the soft launch of Ontario Lottery and Gaming’s (OLG’s) new internet
gambling platform. This expansion will
significantly increase opportunities for Ontarians to gamble from their homes
and mobile devices—making online help tools more important than ever. Factors
that can combine to deter multicultural communities from seeking help include:
lack of information and resources, language difficulties, stigma, cultural
pride, issues of confidentiality and anonymity, distrust of outsider’s help and
discomfort in seeking professional services.
There is no registration required to access
the multilingual self-help worksheets on ProblemGambling.ca. PDF documents can be viewed with Adobe
Reader, a free software program; special attention was paid to making the PDFs
compliant with Ontario
accessibility standards. In addition, family members and friends can navigate
difficult challenges faced by a loved one’s gambling with online tools that
have been developed specifically for them. Other features of the site include:
Gambling Quiz: Answering these nine
questions will help you understand if gambling is having a negative impact on
your life.
Self-Help for Those who Gamble: Do you
gamble? These worksheets will help you explore, cut down or stop gambling.
Self-Help for Family and Friends: Does
someone you care about gamble too much? With these exercises, learn why they
gamble and what you can do to help.
Monitor Your Gambling & Urges (MYGU):
Use this tool to keep track of when you gamble, or feel the urge to gamble.
“I recommend these tools,” says Patrick Au,
Executive Director of Chinese Family Services of Ontario. “They are appropriate
for people experiencing gambling problems, for their family members, friends or
the public.” Patrick also plans on recommending these tools to counsellors at
his agency for use with their Chinese speaking clients.
Translation and cultural adaptation of the
content was completed in collaboration with Ontario agencies that provide treatment
services to individuals and families in many languages: Chinese Family Services
of Ontario, Polycultural Immigrant & Community Services and Costi Immigrant
Services. Development of ProblemGambling.ca’s Self-Help Gambling Tools was
funded by the Ontario Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care.
Resources and information is available in
many languages at www.ProblemGambling.ca.
Francais
∙ 简体中文
∙ 繁體中文
∙ Polski
∙ Espanol
Multilingual Problem Gambling Treatment Services(PDF)
Media contact: Kate Richards, Media Relations, Centre for
Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) 416 535-8501 ext. 36015 media@camh.ca