Community outreach
Our Outreach service is a relaxed, friendly yet highly successful way of receiving support when struggling with Gambling Related Harms.
Our Outreach service is a relaxed, friendly yet highly successful way of receiving support when struggling with Gambling Related Harms.
This service is unique in that it has been developed through collaboration with individuals with lived experience, tested in many different settings, and has evolved through the constant bettering of our practices as we learn from experience and evidence. Our Gambling Outreach And Living Support (GOALS) service is now a part of the National Gambling Support Network.
For individuals
We provide a number of 1:1 as well as group activities which help minimise the impact of Gambling Related Harms. We offer:
One-to-one brief interventions
These are holistic interventions based on our mentors’ lived experience, evidence-based practice and therapeutic approaches. The aim of these interventions is to let our clients lead us into helping them craft the recovery journey best suited to them.
Group recovery
We provide weekly Health and Wellbeing Groups facilitated by individuals with Lived Experience of Gambling Related Harms. We are currently accepting referrals to our Camden and Islington Community Hub. Individuals must have a connection to Camden or Islington (such as living there, working there or having family there). We are currently also taking referrals from other support and community agencies. To become a referral partner, please get in touch with us.
For organisations
We provide workshops for charities, support organisations and community-based groups which explain the damaging role that gambling addiction can have in a person’s life, how to spot early signs of gambling addiction, how to talk to people about their gambling, how to support individuals who are beginning to show signs of gambling problems and to where they can be signposted or referred.
These workshops are delivered by individuals with lived experience and provide a great forum in which to ask questions. The workshops can also be customised to your organisation’s individual needs. Please contact us if you would like to arrange for the delivery of a workshop.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic we offered a 12-session packet of 1:1 sessions with one of our outreach workers. Each session would involve a face-to-face meeting in a café or other mutually agreed safe place, and one of our workers, all of whom have had personal experience of gambling, would follow our customisable framework to offer support through a mentoring approach.
During this difficult time, we have re-evaluated our offering to most effectively help people struggling with GRH now. Our outreach service has moved to a short initial intervention model followed by ongoing support. This starts with three sessions.
An introduction to our service where we will have a chat with you to discuss what your immediate needs are, what we can do to help you now, and what your long-term goals are.
In your next session, we work with you to unpack your current gambling habits, and then discuss how we can put together an action plan to replace these with healthier habits.
We work with you to identify your long-term support needs. If you identify any other support agencies or other services which you believe you could benefit from we will help you contact them.
Following this initial intervention, a trained peer volunteer will be assigned to provide you with ongoing support as you implement the safeguards and continue to develop healthy habits. They and we are there if you need to reach out for more support.
We are currently accepting referrals to our Camden and Islington Community Hub. Individuals must have a connection to Camden or Islington (such as living there, working there or having family there). We are currently also taking referrals from other support and community agencies. To become a referral partner, please get in touch with us.
It's always difficult to know how to help someone else. Letting someone know you suspect a problem and are worried, in a supportive and concerned manner, is more likely to be helpful than trying to hide this, being judgemental or aggressive. It's a good idea to talk about how you’re feeling and what you’ve observed as this approach is less likely to trigger an argument than being confrontational.
Some people with gambling harms will be relieved and grateful the subject was broached, as they want to talk about it. Other people might not want to talk because they’re ashamed and could become defensive. If a person lies about having a problem, you can still say you care about your loved one and give them information on where to get help. If a discussion about gambling becomes circular or confrontational, take a break and pick up the subject later. Always keep the lines of communication open. Let them know you're concerned about them and can help them by referring them to us.
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