Projects

GLEN are launching a diverse community outreach programme designed to take discussions around gambling harms to existing communities where it is having a real but hidden impact.

This is with a view to helping enable those communities to form their own internal support frameworks around gambling harms and to support them in doing so by providing them with a directory of resources for those seeking treatment, or in seeking other forms of support around harmful gambling and its impacts.

We will be engaging with existing networks representing those communities and will be looking to make the existence and impact of harmful gambling more visible by supporting individuals from those communities in openly discussing:

• What it means to them to be a part of that community
• How they themselves have been impacted by gambling harms
• How this has affected their relationships within their community
• What barriers they have encountered in either talking about their harm or in accessing treatment or support due to being a member of their community
• What they feel others in their community ought to know about gambling and the harms it can cause
• Whether there are any specific areas where they feel harm from gambling is being perpetuated or exacerbated within their community.

As a network of people who have experience of gambling harms GLEN feels that we have the collective knowledge and understanding necessary to bring this subject fully in to focus, but we also recognise that community identity plays a significant role in shaping how harms are experienced. For this reason we feel these have to be discussions which occur within communities and which are led by members of those communities.

To support this programme of community engagements we will be recruiting volunteers to form a project team to help design resources which are tailored to the communities involved and to help facilitate the discussions and networking necessary to make this project a success.

We welcome interest from anyone wishing to take part in our project teams, and also interest from any individuals or community networks who would like to help bring this project to life within their own community.

To express interest please contact us by email at info@glenetwork.org using "Community Outreach" in the subject line.

In support of our community outreach programme GLEN are developing a comprehensive and independent directory of all UK treatment and support resources based around improving the lives of those impacted by harmful gambling.

We are conscious that although there is a diverse and ever expanding range of treatment and support services which individuals experiencing harms caused by gambling can access, knowing where they are located or what they offer can be a significant barrier to successful uptake.

If we as a network of individuals, some with extensive long existing lived experience of gambling harms, sometimes struggle to know every resource out there then we can only imagine how difficult it is for those newly arriving in the sector or discovering themselves having immediate and pressing need to find helpful resources to then know where to look.

As an independent network of Lived Experience individuals we believe that GLEN is well placed to be able to provide a directory of known resources and to be able to offer advice on how to make contact, what types of treatment and support exist, what can be expected from those services, and which resources are tailored for specific types of need.

To support this directory  we will be drawing on the knowledge of our own membership and others in the gambling harms community.

If you feel that this is a project which you would like to become involved in, either as part of our volunteer project team or in some other capacity then we would welcome hearing from you.

To express interest or to suggest resources for inclusion please contact us by email at info@glenetwork.org using "Resource Directory " in the subject line.

In the meantime if you are seeking treatment or support resources we would direct you to our own HELP - Where to Look page.