Annual report - Jeu : Aide et Référence

Annual report
Gambling: Help and Referral
2013-2014
INFORMATION AND REFERRAL CENTRE OF GREATER MONTRÉAL
Annual report of Gambling: Help and Referral
April 1st 2013 to March 31st 2014
Charitable registration number
No 10689 5840 RR0001
Telephone: (514) 527-0140
1 800 461-0140 and 1 866 SOS-JEUX
Fax: (514) 527-9712
E-mail: [email protected]
Web site: www.jeu-aidereference.qc.ca
CREDITED BY:
Graphic design and editing, courtesy of Pro Health Group inc./ 2014
Graphic designer: Renée Champagne
Printed: Sisca
Images: © Shutterstock.com
Legal deposit - 2nd quarter 2014
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
National Library of Canada
ISBN 978-2-921713-91-7
ISSN 1195-1532
GAMBLING: HELP AND REFERRAL
Active since 1993, Gambling: Help and Referral has recently been distinguished by an
evaluation conducted by a research team from the University of Laval and supported by the
Fonds québécois de la recherche sur la société et la culture (FQRSC). The report shows that
the helpline addresses an actual need in Québec and provides top quality service to the
population. Nearly 175, 000 people have turned to help and information over the past 20
years!
The counsellors at Gambling: Help and Referral are very much aware of the insidious impact
gambling activities may have on the life of its diverse clientele, so they ensure that every
need, and every request are assessed and carefully handled, without judgment, respectfully
and confidentially. The helpline not only seeks to inform and refer gamblers or their relatives
to proper specialized resources, but to also help them regain control of their life and put a
stop to the aftermaths of gambling addiction.
The support, information and referral mission of Gambling: Help and Referral could not be
upgraded without the skills, passion and professional involvement of each counsellor. Their
professionalism and enthusiasm, as well as their teamwork skills should be emphasized.
We are also thankful to the ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec for
showing us their financial support once again this year.
Counsellors handle different types of requests such as assessing the callers’ gambling habits;
giving information for a resource specialized in the treatment of excessive gambling; support
and empathy in moments of great distress and referral to a resource specialized in crisis
situations and suicide. The anonymous and confidential nature of the calls allows people
to talk about their difficulties without the fear of being identified. In fact, suffering, shame,
despair, anxiety and insecurity are often part of the callers’ burden.
Gambling: Help and Referral has faced two complaints this year, properly addressed by the
coordinator both to the satisfaction of the complainants and the best interest of the service.
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Some statistical data
20 000
15 000
10 000
2013-2014
2012-2013
2011-2012
2010-2011
2009-2010
2008-2009
2007-2008
2006-2007
2005-2006
2004-2005
2003-2004
2002-03
2001-02
2000-01
1999-00
1998-99
1997-98
1996-97
1995-96
1994-95
5000
0
1993-94
Number of requests
This year, about 12,000 people have contacted Gambling: Help and Referral; 811 of which
were English-speaking people. Between November 15, 1993 and March 31st, 2014, nearly
175,000 people turned to Gambling: Help and Referral for help and information.
Years
In 2013-2014, out of 86% of calls, 51% were from men and 35% from women, all very
preoccupied by their gambling habits. Among the other calls, 8 % came from relatives of
excessive gamblers (spouses, siblings, parents, friends, etc.), 2.5% from field workers and
3.5% from educational institutions, employers and the media. Of the total of calls, nearly
93% were from adults, 7% from seniors and less than 1% from teenagers. It should be noted
that the amount of calls from seniors is almost twice as much than previous years.
Source of requests
2,5 %
3,5 %
8%
Men
Woman
Entourage
Social field workers
35 %
Others
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51 %
Requests can be divided into the following categories:
• Requests for listening and support accounted for 10% of the calls
• Requests for general information on excessive gambling and services provided
by Gambling: Help and Referral accounted for 49%
• Requests for rehabilitation services represented 10%
• Requests on related subjects such as crisis and suicide thoughts management,
mental health, drug addiction and violence, legal services, budget consultations,
accommodations, etc., represented 31% of the calls
Type of requests
10 %
General information
31 %
Related issues
Rehabilitation
Listening and support
10 %
49 %
Since January 2006, help is available online at www.jeu-aidereference.qc.ca. This year,
the website has received 602,232 hits, with 156,563 pages viewed and 69,087 visits. This
website provides general information on gambling issues but also offers help online. Upon
entering the website, the user can either seek for help online or get information on the issue.
The site is not only intended for gamblers, but also for their families, relatives, as well as,
field workers.
Among the types of games mentioned most often by callers were video lottery terminals
(53%), lotteries, which have increased again this year (13%), electronic and online games
(10%), slot machines in casinos (8%), and poker (7%).
More than half of requests originated from the Greater Montréal area, 14% from the
Montérégie, over 8% from the Capitale Nationale region, nearly 4% from Outaouais, the
same goes for The Laurentians, more than 3% from the Eastern Townships, and nearly 3%
from Mauricie and Centre-du-Québec. Finally, around 10% of calls originated from other
areas of Québec.
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Public Relations
In terms of public relations, Gambling: Help and Referral was involved in some twenty
activities, seven of which were television and radio broadcasts. In total, the service was the
subject of 40 publications by the media.
In 2013, a major campaign promoting direct mail was launched in the Greater Montréal area
by the advertising distribution network PROCITÉ. In total, more than 1.2 million households
received information on all four services provided by the IRCGM, including Drugs: Help and
Referral and Gambling: Help and Referral.
This was coupled with the provincial campaign by IMAGI featuring a billboard on
Gambling: Help and Referral in bus shelters of Québec’s major cities. Continuing on the
theme of promoting the service, indoor advertisements were displayed in buses in four
targeted regions: Outaouais, The Laurentians, Mauricie and Centre-du-Québec, as well as
the Montérégie through COGECO MÉTROMÉDIA. In addition, we were able to reach health
professionals through agendas intended for them and created by IDCOM.
An information session was held in April 2013, regarding the mission and operating principles
of our service. It was intended for six Belgian nurses training in Québec, thanks to the Bureau
International Jeunesse from Belgium.
We would like to underline that Mrs. Hélène Hamel, coordinator of both specialized helplines,
was a member of the planning committee for the 41st Conference of the Association des
Intervenants en Toxicomanie du Québec, entitled: “Dépendance : multiples enjeux, nouveaux
défis”. During the same conference, Mrs. Hamel also took part in the preparation and
presentation of a three-hour workshop on “Supervision clinique en milieux des dépendances”.
Last December, Mrs. Pierrette Gagné, Executive Director of the IRCGM and Hélène Hamel set up
a meeting with Mrs. Joane Turgeon and Claudine Thibaudeau, Executive Director and clinical
support officer for the organization SOS Violence conjugale. The goal of this meeting was to
discuss each organization’s operating principles and explore new avenues for cooperation.
In March, the Executive Director along with the coordinator attended, at the theatre Le Gesù,
a fund-raising event celebrating the 30 years of service of the organization Suicide Action
Montréal. They were invited by Mrs. Guylaine Rioux and Christine Durocher from the VicePresidency for responsible gaming of Loto-Québec.
At the request of Mrs. Nadia Ouellet, Mrs. Hamel also presented in March of this year, the
services offered by Drugs: Help and Referral and Gambling: Help and Referral to the students
at the Collège Maisonneuve.
Thank-you to the collaboration of our valued partners, including The Association des centres de
réadaptation en dépendance du Québec and the Association des intervenants en toxicomanie
du Québec, to name a few, as frequent publications were made in their newsletters about
Gambling: Help and Referral, as well as the telecounselling program for excessive gambling.
This ongoing cooperation with various field workers and professionals is of highest interest,
as they are valued promotional officers for our services, which complement theirs.
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Transfer of knowledge activities
The coordinator took part in the unveiling of the “Résultats du
projet Chez soi Montréal : Vers une stratégie pour mettre fin
à l’itinérance”, in November 2013. This event was held by the
Douglas Mental Health University Institute; the Commission de la
santé mentale du Canada; the Centre hospitalier de l’Université
de Montréal; and the CSSS Jeanne-Mance.
Mrs. Monique Côté, counsellor for the Grambling: Help and
Referral helpline and Mrs. Hamel both attended the Workshop
“Le DSM-5, défiant ou décevant?” at the Douglas Mental Health
University Institute last November. Over the same period, Mrs.
Côté and Hamel participated in the Cross-Training session entitled
Troubles de la personnalité et toxicomanie chez les jeunes (15
à 30 ans) : mieux comprendre pour mieux agir. Mrs. Hamel
regularly acts a “rapporteur” in one of the workshops of this biannual activity.
Last December, The Executive Director along with the Coordinator
took part in a transfer of knowledge activity on the socioeconomic impacts of gambling. Mrs. Élisabeth Papineau from the INSPQ (Les modalités
de commercialisation des loteries au Québec : implications sociales et de santé publique),
and Mr. Serge Brochu from the University of Montréal (Le jeu dans l’environnement
correctionnel : portrait, interprétation, impacts et enjeux, as well as L’accessibilité, la
signification et l’impact des jeux dans les pénitenciers fédéraux du Québec, for Valérie
Beauregard), were the two researchers presenting these results.
Finally, Mrs. Hamel along with Mr. Gil Bellemare, counsellor for the Gambling: Help and
Referral helpline, attended a transfer of knowledge activity on Jeux de hasard et d’argent :
portrait de joueurs et prévalence des problèmes associés on March 2014, by videoconference
at the Centre de réadaptation en dépendance de Montréal – Institut universitaire. Mrs. Sylvia
Kairouz, Ph.D. and Louise Nadeau, Ph.D., Associate Professor in the Department of Sociology
and Anthropology, University of Concordia and Professor in the Psychology Department,
University of Montréal, presented the research results on: Portait du jeu au Québec :
Prévalence, incidence et trajectoires sur 10 ans.
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Vocational Training
Gambling addiction has attracted the interest of many researchers, thus enabling field
workers to increase their level of knowledge on the matter.
Counsellors at the Gambling: Help and Referral helpline have attended various workshops,
either in partnership with the University of Sherbrooke and the Association des intervenants
en toxicomanie du Québec, or through the Jeudis de l’Institut, by the Centre de réadaptation
en dépendance de Montréal– Institut universitaire. Over the past year, they attended
workshops on: Les agressions sexuelles : pour ne pas maintenir le secret / Sensibilisation à
l’approche motivationnelle et Mise en pratique de l’entretien motivationnel / Dépendance
jeu pathologique / La charge transférentielle, une aventure tumultueuse en intervention /
Troubles de la personnalité et dépendance.
Information stands
• The Bar Association of Montréal - Salon Visez Droit, April 2013
• Salon Aînés, Résidence soleil, October 2013
• Douglas Mental Health University Institute, April and November 2013;
• Salon Mieux-Vivre, for seniors, November 2013
• Conseil régional FTQ métropolitain - 26e Conférence annuelle des délégué(e)s
sociaux, February 2014
Conferences
• 9th Nordic Conference, International conference on « Changing the Landscape of
Gambling – Treatment and Prevention », May 2013
• 14th Annual National Center for Responsible Gaming Conference on Gambling and
Addiction, Las Vegas, USA, September 2013
• The Association des intervenants en toxicomanie du Québec, October 2013
• Last January, the conférence La socialisation des hommes âgés, held at the Centre
Saint-Pierre and organized by the Association canadienne pour la santé mentale,
filiale de Montréal. Speaker was Mr. Pierre L’Heureux, M.A. Andragogy, human
relations officer at the CSSS Pierre-Boucher.
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Telecounselling
Since September 2012, a Telecounselling
service for excessive gamblers, in the form of
short-term therapy over the phone is offered by
the personnel of Gambling: Help and Referral.
Implementing such a program considering its
short-term therapeutic impact has clearly showed a positive potential. It is a result of a pilot
project carried out in 2006 by the Centre and supported financially by the MSSS. It also
became quite clear that serving the whole province of Québec, through a unique telephone
service seemed not only realistic, but was very well received by the population. Considering
the positive impacts of such a project among a part of the population dealing with problem
gambling behaviours, the MSSS got the Telecounselling service back on track in 2012, trusting
the Centre with the mandate to provide this service over a period of three years.
This free short-term telecounselling program - of which Mr. Jacques Ducharme, M. Ps. is the
clinical supervisor - reaches out to a great variety of people in terms of socio-demographic
characteristics and from all regions of Québec. The Gambling: Help and Referral personnel are
in charge of recruiting its participants. In 2013-2014, 74 people dealing with gambling issues
have turned to our telecounselling service.
Quite innovative, as it is done only over the phone, the program includes an evaluation interview
(one hour, thirty minutes) and six telephone sessions of one hour each on the following
topics: motivation, finances, erroneous beliefs, triggers, relapse prevention and staying on
the right path. Four telephone meeting sessions for follow-up are offered after 1, 3, 6 and
12 months before the end of the program. Telecounselling has emerged as a relevant
approach for early intervention, to provide services to a population with mobility difficulties,
or a clientele reluctant to ask for assistance in the public network for fear they may be
recognized, etc.
For 20 years now, Gambling: Help and Referral has been providing reliable and quality service
on information, support and referral, to all the population of Québec dealing with gambling
issues. We have constantly pursued every effort to earn and keep the trust of our callers, for
which this service acts as a safety net.
Telecounselling for excessive gamblers
Mr. Jacques Ducharme, M.Ps., Clinical Supervisor
Mrs. Hélène Hamel, coordinator and counsellor
Mr. Gil Bellemare, counsellor
Mr. Érick-André Leroux, counsellor
Mrs. Isabelle Provencher, counsellor
Mrs. Nancy Rocha, counsellor
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