Minnesotans now have the ability to see how their gambling behavior compares with other residents of the North Star State. MNAPG now provides a survey that will provide both feedback and useful information.
The survey, produced in partnership with Evolution Health, provides information on a respondent’s gambling habits and attitudes in comparison with other Minnesotans. Survey takers are asked to provide their first names, basic demographic information and answers to questions about their level of engagement with gambling.
As answers are provided, a pie chart graph pops up so that the viewer can see how other Minnesotans participate in that particular form of gambling. The respondent will also receive a personalized report identifying where they fall in the problem gambling spectrum as well as tips and resources. The report is private and is not held by Evolution Health or MNAPG. Aggregate data will be collected and will not be identifiable by name, IP address or any other identifying method. Our hope is that as an individual is considering whether they are experiencing negative consequences relating to gambling that this will be the start of further personal awareness and opportunities to seek helpful resources. The survey can be found at HERE.
One of our goals is to educate mental health and substance use disorder providers about the need to screen for problem gambling among their clients and to encourage them to learn more about this addiction. As part of our mission, we travel to a variety of conferences, either presenting or exhibiting many of the resources we make available to the public. It’s an opportunity to have conversations and to learn what treatment providers are seeing on the front lines. Unfortunately, we learn — all too often — that those with problem gambling issues are not seeking the help available to them.
This quarter, we made presentations or presided over a table at:
• The Minnesota Alliance of Rural Addiction Treatment Programs conference in Wilmar
• The Faith and Addiction Conference in Bloomington
• The St. Louis County Health and Human Services Conference in Duluth
• The Minnesota Corrections Offices Conference in Nisswa
• The Minnesota Prevention Sharing Program Conference (virtual)
• The Minnesota Association of Resources for Recovery and Chemical Health (MARRCH) in St. Paul
• The St. Cloud StandDown (a program for Veterans), and
Minnesota’s Department of Human Services continues to follow the federal health emergency guidelines for providing telehealth services. The current three-month approval will end in November. As of mid-October, there was no indication from DHS — one way or the other — as to whether this will continue.
Given the success of telehealth counseling and Minnesota’s expansive geography and often-hazardous winter weather, MNAPG will continue to advocate for this service becoming a permanent tool for counselors and therapists. With only 18 certified problem gambling providers in the state of Minnesota, most located in the Twin Cities metro area, we believe telehealth counseling is an essential tool in helping those experiencing harm from gambling, whether a gambler or a family member. While in-person will always be the gold standard, we think the accessibility of telehealth counseling can be extremely helpful for those seeking to begin their recovery.
I’m hardly the person you’d expect to develop a gambling addiction. I wasn’t a video gamer, didn’t like football pools and didn’t play the stock market. I didn’t even start gambling until I was almost 50. And even then, I took a roll of quarters to the casino, spent it in 15 minutes, and that was the extent of it.
But within a year, I fell fast and hard. I had a big win at the casino when I bet $20 and won $2,000 in a video poker game. Then I thought maybe I could win $20,000.
I got money from wherever I could. I maxed my credit cards and used the overdraft protection from my bank as a loan. And since I managed the finances where I worked, I started juggling the books and accessing funds, convincing myself I would “borrow” the money, keep track of it and pay it back.
My job performance eventually suffered because I spent so much time at the casino. I remember falling asleep at my desk one day because I gambled for the majority of a weekend, getting very little sleep. I ended up getting fired from my job because of poor performance, tardiness and absenteeism.
I knew it was a matter of time before I got caught for what I did with the organization’s books. The fateful day came a month after I was fired when detectives knocked on my door and went through every corner of my house. After I was arraigned, bail was set at a whopping one million dollars because I had previously gone on a cruise to the Grand Cayman, a place where people are known to hide money. I ultimately received a 51-month sentence, spending 34 months in prison and 17 months on parole.
I know that today there are specialty gambling courts in some states where people can avoid prison time if their offenses are related to their gambling addiction. I don’t know that that would have served me well. I think I needed all the time I spent in prison to come up with a plan for the rest of my life. A wrist slap, at least in my case, may not have been enough.
Once I became resolute in my recovery, I was amazed at how many times the “system” wasn’t really in step with my addiction. Once on parole, I was told not to drink or do drugs, though that was never an issue for me. I was subjected to urinalysis to make sure that I wasn’t doing either, but the test somehow came back positive for ecstasy (later determined to be because of a medication I was taking). Another time, while on parole, I was suspected of stealing cash from my employer, but the theft was later traced to a coworker. It’s at these times — when I was getting healthier in my recovery — that I felt sort of framed as a felon or criminal. It’s at these times — when you feel knocked down — that it’s tempting to turn back to the addiction. The key is continuing to work your recovery program.
Now I focus on sharing my story with others at outpatient centers and conferences. I talk about what it was like to be an addict and how I was able to overcome my challenges. I want to give back.
I look back on the lies I told and can’t believe how intricate they were. I once told my employer that I was gone for three hours for lunch because I was at a gas station and someone’s car caught on fire — and that my phone was lost in my act of trying to help them get out.
I came from a middle-class Christian home. I was raised to not lie, cheat and steal. Yet that’s what I became. Everything takes a back seat to the gambling addiction, which is what’s truly driving the bus.
If somebody hears my story and they’re sitting on the fence, I hope they do some reflection and use whatever resources are available to them and not go as deep into the addiction as I did. I feel physical pain when I hear of people that suspect they have a gambling addiction but continue to plunge deeper.
The message I want to leave people with is not to think that it can’t happen to you. It can. No matter your background or how good a person you are, these things can happen to good people.
In the second of a series profiling organizations receiving grants from Minnesota’s Department of Human Services (DHS), this issue of Northern Light features Asian Media Access.
Asian Media Access (AMA) is a comprehensive community media arts education agency supporting creative solutions for problems facing the Asian American & Pacific Islander (AAPI) community through education, production, information technology and community organizing. It’s bringing its resources and mission to bear on the issue of problem gambling to this community.
AMA’s effort began with research to understand more about the cultural impacts creating different problem gambling behaviors. They conducted interviews with 25 members of the AAPI community representing different ethnicities and social status.
“We found that our communities share the secrecy surrounding problem gambling like other communities,” says AMA founder and executive director Ange Hwang. “There is the challenge of people recognizing that they have a gambling problem and seeking help.”
According to Ange, approximately 25% of those interviewed say they gamble because they want more money. In one instance, a woman with low income explained she hoped to get more money to support newborns. “This type of thinking was a surprise to us as we thought they might gamble because they needed an escape from the stress of trying to speak English.”
“Many think that gambling, even in small amounts, is the best route to get more money,” says Ange. “We need to change that mindset so that people understand that if you lose a little, it’s still a large percentage of their assets. We’re trying to find a new way to discuss this with the community.”
The AAPI community uses a communication style that’s different than the Eurocentric way of contacting a hotline and talking to a counselor. Thus, the goal is to create messages that can become immersed in the environment so that it starts to build context and trust.
Another emphasis is to educate members of the community about the importance of financial management. “Many people don’t have exposure to mainstream society and don’t understand the complex financial structure present in the U.S.”
AMA is working to share messages in a variety of ways, including brochures, educational workshops and in-person. “From past experience, we know it’s hard for people to come and say, ‘Yes, I’m a problem gambler and need this workshop,” says Ange. The use of creative materials to open up community discussion is part of a four-year process.
AMA will also be creating YouTube videos that they can present at events and share through social circles. They’ve also started a youth group of “cultural brokers” that will use the heritage language to create postcards and other items that will be circulated to the community. “Communication through heritage language is a key for members who don’t know English,” says Ange.
AMA is collaborating with various organizations to educate the community about problem gambling. These include Asian temples in the Twin Cities, local chambers of commerce, restaurant owners and other organizations that help those new to the area.
