Raising OUR Voices

The Gambling Impact Society (GIS) has been delivering free lived experience/personal narrative based community education programs, across NSW since 2012. These programs have been funded by government grants at both federal and state level. More recently  (2021-22) we received had direct and dedicated funding from the NSW Office of Responsible Gambling (ORG) to facilitate this important work. However, at present these Free lived experience community education programs are in abeyance until such time further funding is made available.  We continue to look for grants and sponsorship.

A General Overview

Our Lived Experience community education programs are based on a number of key guiding principles. These include:

 

• Personal narrative projects require skilled professional staff to train and support volunteer consumer presenters and to promote and manage the project.
• All personal narrative work should be developed with a focus upon ethical and safe practice.
• All Lived experience speakers (peer educators) should be provided with effective training, supervision and support to deliver safe presentations within personal boundaries
• Relapse support and referral should be provided to ensure the ongoing health and safety of lived experience participants.
• Lived experience speakers should be supported to move through the project into other activities and goals as they desire.
• Lived experiences speakers should be paid an honorarium for their time presenting and reimbursed their travel costs
• All peer educators should be engaged on volunteer contracts and be covered by appropriate GIS insurances to engage in this work.

Our Lived Experience/ Consumer Voices programs aim to:

·      Increase community awareness and education about gambling harms including online gambling	·      Increase understanding about problem gambling
·      Create an informed and empathetic community to reduce stigma	·      Reduce barriers to support for those affected by gambling harms
·      Promote self-help and professional support to those affected	·      Value the experience and role of consumers (those affected by PG) in being peer leaders in individual recovery and community education.