Youth Gambling Services
Youth and Young Adults Clinical Services:
For the purposes of our program we define youth as being 12- 18 years and young adults as age 19 to 24. We have specialized services and counselling for youth and young adults. If someone has concerns and gives us a call or emails our intake line for help we get back to them asap. We make every effort to bring them in to meet with our youth/ young adult counsellor usually within one to two days. If it is not possible to come into our office then we will talk by phone.
We are also willing to see young people out of the office at other locations if there is some privacy. Youth living outside of London can be seen in our satellite offices. Information shared is confidential to the agency and there is no fee for our services. We can also mail out information.
Youth/Young Adult Awareness Program
The goal of our program is to increase awareness of problem gambling among youth and young adults and to reach young people who may need help because of their own or someone else's gambling.
Most young people do not recognize what they are doing as gambling. They tend to associate gambling with casinos and slot machines. We teach them about odds and risks, how to make decisions about gambling, signs and symptoms of problem gambling. We have incorporated materials into the curriculum of Grades 5 and 10 in within the Thames Valley District School Board. We have also participated in special events such as Racing Against Drugs and health fairs at secondary schools, college, and university.
Our Youth/Young Adult Awareness and Outreach Presentations have reached 25,000 young people in the past four years. These numbers represent students in grades 5 and 10 but also youth involved in community services, and young adults at colleges and universities. There has been a steady increase of youth and young adults requesting assistance from our services.
How Much Do You Know About Gambling?
Play Our Video Game!
Know More Gambling ... is an exciting video car racing game that can be used in multiple environments: classrooms, counselling sessions, at home. The game if fun, educational and uses a youth friendly medium to teach about signs and symptoms of problems, odds, myths, risks and more. We developed this game in partnership with mindyourmind.ca, an award winning website which focuses on mental health and high risk behaviors in youth and young adults.
For more information on Youth and Substance Use, please click here.
For further information about all our youth services, call us at (519) 673-3242 ext# *234. Feel free to contact us by email to learn about our current groups.
