A decade of helping Asian communities with problem gambling

“When I was at the lowest point of my life, the only friend that I knew at that time encouraged me to call the Asian Services hotline at the Problem Gambling Foundation for help. This phone call has changed my life.”

Asian Services at the Problem Gambling Foundation celebrate their 10th anniversary on 25 September and these heartfelt words from a client reinforce the need for the services they have been providing to Asian communities over the last decade.

John Wong, Asian Services Director says the number of Asian people seeking help for problem gambling has steadily increased over the years with many clients in desperate situations.

“The majority of the Asian population in New Zealand are recent migrants that don’t have the support of extended family and friends. Alongside that is the language barrier which prevents many Asian people from seeking help from English speaking service providers,” he says.

“There is also a very strong stigma associated with problem gambling and so often clients and their families don’t seek help when the problem starts and it quickly escalates into a desperate situation.”

Asian Services at the Problem Gambling Foundation started with only three part-time staff offering a telephone service in Mandarin, Cantonese and Korean.

John Wong says it is exciting to look back over the last ten years and see how much the service has grown and what has been achieved.

“The phone service we started with is now a national hotline with the service growing to meet the increased needs of Asian communities,” he says.

Asian Services at the Problem Gambling Foundation provide free, professional counselling and support for problem gambling in Cantonese, Mandarin, Korean, Vietnamese, Khmer, Thai and Hindi.

The 10th anniversary of Asian Services will be celebrated at a special event on Friday 25 September at 6pm at the Problem Gambling Foundation, 128 Khyber Pass Road, Grafton, Auckland.

Hon Pansy Wong, Minister for Ethnic Affairs will attend and speak at the event celebrating a decade of services to Asian communities.

Asian Services Hotline 0800 862 342

Ends

© Scoop Media