HELP LINE UPDATE

The Mississippi Council operates a help line for problem and compulsive gamblers, which has received 109,653 calls and helped 14,252 gamblers, their families and friends since its inception. Over the past year we have noticed certain trends in the calls we have received for help. In an effort to learn more about compulsive gambling and those who suffer from this disorder, we have attempted to create a database of information from these calls. However, we recognize that some callers may be in such a state of crisis that the gathering of information is impossible.

In 2011 the help line received a total of 3085 calls, of which 631 were counseling calls. Seventy-seven percent of our callers are seeking help for themselves, while others are calling about their spouses (7%), relatives (9%), and friends (4%). The majority (61%) of the individuals experiencing problems with gambling fall between the ages of 26-64. Fifty-eight percent heard about our help line number through the casinos.

MCPCG refers compulsive gamblers and their families to 25 Gamblers Anonymous meetings; the 15 Regional Mental Health Centers; 21 Private Treatment Providers and 10 Consumer Credit Counseling Centers.

In 2008, the Council added a new component to our help line services. This component, Call to Change (C2C) Program, will provide additional support to our help line callers in taking the next step toward counseling and/or Gamblers Anonymous. The Call to Change (C2C) Program is a 6-week enhanced case management/relapse prevention program for problem gamblers consisting of phone sessions with a C2C counselor, weekly mailings and homework assignments.