SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
GambleAware has awarded £2m in funding to ten organisations to help improve the long-term recovery for victims of gambling harms.
The grants form part of the charity’s expanded ‘Aftercare Funding Programme’ (AFP), which is focused on developing longer-term recovery programmes to benefit the UK’s treatment support network for gambling harms.
The ten organisations selected include; the Acta Community Theatre, Addiction Recovery Agency (ARA) Recovery4all, Beacon Counselling Trust, Citizens Advice Brighton & Hove, Citizen Advice Wirral, Cyrenians, Epic Restart Foundation, GamCare and Reframe, Steps To Work, and Veterans Aid.
The AFP provided two-levels of funding, with £150,000 donated to “smaller or newer organisations or for those looking to test an approach”. The more experienced organisations could claim up to £350,000 in funding, to develop their programmes further.
The organisations were chosen following a rigorous selection process involving a panel of experts, including two members with lived experience.
GambleAware cited that each organisation was capable of addressing the challenges of providing long-term recovery for gambling risks, by “improving mental health and wellbeing, increasing practical skills such as financial and employability skills, and increasing people’s confidence and self-belief in their abilities.”
Anna Hargrave, GambleAware’s Chief Commissioning Officer, said: “Enabling people to access treatment and support to reduce or stop their gambling is essential. But there is less known about how to ensure this recovery can be sustained over the long term. This is why our Aftercare Funding Programme was set up to fund projects which support recovery for people to help them rebuild their lives.
“These ten organisations were chosen to receive funding because of their innovative approaches, as well as their abilities to reach specific communities. We look forward to seeing how the projects develop.”
