February 27, 2025 • 30 mins
March is American Red Cross Month. Lori Arnold, with the Red Cross Disaster Relief Team joins us to discuss the history of the agency and their mission.
And, thanks to the popularity of sports betting apps, revenues for sports betting have gone from just shy of $430 million in 2018 to a staggering $11 billion in 2023. With that an increase in gambling problems.
Jennifer Krause, Executive Director of the Florida Counsil on Compulsive Gambling, discusses the issue and how to address it.
And, thanks to the popularity of sports betting apps, revenues for sports betting have gone from just shy of $430 million in 2018 to a staggering $11 billion in 2023. With that an increase in gambling problems.
Jennifer Krause, Executive Director of the Florida Counsil on Compulsive Gambling, discusses the issue and how to address it.
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Welcome to iHeartRadio Communities, a public affairs special focusing on
the biggest issues in facting you this week. Here's many
munhos and welcome to another edition of Iheartradios Communities. As
you heard, I am Manny Muno's. As we kick off
the month of March, we acknowledge some of the groups
(00:21):
and issues that use this month to bring attention to
certain things. One of them is the American Red Cross.
What they do, their mission, their history. Let's talk about
all of that as we bring in Laurie Arnold with
the Red Cross disaster relief team based in Little Rock, Arkansas. Laurie,
I appreciate you sharing your time.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Thanks so much, Thanks so much for having me, Thanks
for letting us talk about the Red Cross and all
we do.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Yeah, so let me start off with that. What is
the American Red Cross and what exactly is it that
you do?
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Well, the American Red Cross has been around since eighteen
eighty one. We have a long history of working with
our military members with collecting block and was responding to
disaster and providing essential training for people to save lives.
So that's us on a nutshell, and it's great that
we're actually talking here at March because this is Red
(01:11):
Cross Months.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
How did March become a American Red Cross Month?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Well about eighty years ago. In nineteen forty three, to
be exact, President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He issued the first
presidential proclamation to declare March as a Red Cross Month.
It was an effort to raise funds for aid during
the Second World War. And every US president since it
has followed suit and has claimed Red Cross or claimed
(01:39):
March to be Red Cross Months every year.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
What were the original I'm sorry to interrupt.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Go ahead, Oh no, no, I was going to say, it's
a great opportunity for us to honor all the amazing
Red Cross volunteers that we have, the blood donors and
of course are financial supporters as well.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Have the original goals changed since the Red Cross was
founded so long ago.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
The original goals have not changed.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
No.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Now, some of the details have changed, of course, but
we really started out with Claire Barton on the battlefield
supporting wounded soldiers. We've continued that tradition all the way
through to today where we still have support for our
military members. We actually provide the emergency communications for our
military in the US and we continue that long history.
(02:27):
She also immediately as soon as the Red Cross was formed,
began supporting during disaster time. So during floods and hurricanes, earthquakes,
she was there and the Red Cross is there supporting
those victims of those natural disasters. Shortly after actually was
in around nineteen forty, we began the blood program, collecting blood.
(02:49):
And the goal of the Red Cross has always been
to alleviate human suffering in the face of emergency, to
prevent an alleviate human suffering. And so even though the
detail has changed here and there, that has been our
goal ever since eighteen eighty one.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
And it feels like any time there is a natural disaster,
some sort of public suffering, the Red Cross always seem
to be like they're the first ones on the scene
to help.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
So, you know, that's what we're trained to do. You know,
I work in the disaster side of things, and you know,
right now we've got more than one hundred and fifty
Red Cross volunteers and workers on the ground in Kentucky
supporting the flooding that happened just a couple of weeks ago.
So yes, that's something that we are trained to do.
We're ready to do the open shelters, We provide feeding,
(03:35):
we give out emergency supply. We support people with their
healthcare needs during the disaster, so i they've lost medication
or any kind of medical equipment someh we else to
support them with mental health and spiritual care as well,
because we know that disasters affect all parts of us,
not just the physical.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Yeah, talk to me about the many different ways that
our listeners can help the Red Cross, because I know
obviously financial donations, but also actually taking part themselves.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Definitely, there's so many ways that people can get involved
in the Red Cross. As you mentioned financial support. You know,
we're always looking for people to help because we are
funded by the general public. But not everybody's able to
do that. Some people want to actually get their hands
involved and get involved themselves. So we encourage anyone who
is interested to get involved as a volunteer. Call your
(04:25):
local chapter. We've got chapters all over the country in
every single state able to engage you and help you
learn what your interest is in the different ways that
you can support with the Red Cross as a volunteer.
And then of course there's blood donations and in fact,
in the munch of March, Mark in the months of March,
all blood donors who make a successful blood or platelet
(04:47):
donation will actually provide free will actually receive a free
A one C screening, which is a test that's commonly
used to identify diabetes and pre diabetes of the US.
It's part of our health initiative. We want to offer
that to people in the month of March if they
to donate blood.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
And the website for all the information on the Red
Cross is Redcross dot org. Red Cross dot org. It
seems like we mentioned the natural disaster, the response to
those types of things. It seems like the blood donation,
the blood collection is what Americans generally associate with the
Red Cross these days.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
That is true.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
You know, anytime I speak to a group, I always
ask what do you think of when you think of
Red Cross, and immediately the answers are blood and disaster,
and those things are true. We do support both of
those places. But we also do health and safety training.
So if you've ever taken a CPR class or a
swimming class or lifeguarding, Red Cross offers that we offer.
(05:48):
Of course, I mentioned the support to our military, the
emergency communications. Beyond that, we work in a lot of
veterans Tones and VA hospitals to support those hospitalized veterans
who have given to our country and we want to
support them as they continue through their lives. And then
of course we are part of a global Red Cross
and Red Crescent movement, so we are part of that
(06:11):
global network of dedicated people volunteers who want to help
relieve human sufferings.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Difference between Red Cross and Red Crescent.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Very little difference other than the fact that, and this
is a little bit of fun history for you, the
American Red Cross was never a religious cross, but it's
always been a very neutral organization. That is one of
our seven fundamental principles is that we are neutral and
partial and independent. But in some countries the Cross was
still seen as potentially a religious emblem, and so the
(06:47):
Red Crescent was also developed for some nations to use.
And then we also have a red crystal which is
less used but still fits into the concepts so that
if anyone does feel that there's a religious connotations that
is removed.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
You mentioned seven things. What are the seven things you
just mentioned?
Speaker 2 (07:05):
So our seven fundamental principles are humanity first. Obviously, that's
what we are as a humanitarian organization, and we care
about the humanity of the people we live with, and communalists, impartiality, neutrality, independence,
all of those are a way of us being able
to support everyone without any concern for their race, their religion,
(07:26):
their creed, their political stance. All those things are not
important to us because we are here for humanity. And
then we've got voluntary service, so we are made up
of ninety percent volunteers unity. So we are a one
or one Red Cross and every nation can only have
one Red Cross or Red Crescent, and the final one
is universality because we are a part of that global movement.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Speaking with Laurie Arnold with the Red Cross Disaster Relief
Team about March being American Red Cross Month, you've mentioned volunteers.
What role have volunteers played in shaping the American Red
Cross over the years, because I imagine you couldn't do
any of the things you do without their help.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
That is one hundred percent true. As I said before,
we are ninety percent workforce volunteer. We use volunteers for
literally everything. Our volunteers are the ones who are out
on the ground during a disaster, so are the ones
who are planning our Blood drives and helping those blood
drives get set up in different places. Our volunteers are
(08:30):
the ones in the VA hospitals, are the ones who
are helping with those emergency communications. They're doing everything from
casework for the people that we're serving to raising awareness
about the Red Cross out in the community. They're behind
the scenes helping keep our facilities running. Everything you can
think of. We're using volunteers to do that because everyone
(08:51):
has a different skill set, and we can use your
skill set almost regardless of what it is. We have
a place for you the Red Cross.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
How do you work with government, because especially on disaster response,
you don't want to get in the way of the
initial government response, whether it's state or federal, but you
also want to be able to be there to assist
in how that response is taking place.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Certainly, so I'll mention again that you know, one of
our seven seven fundamental principles is independent, so we are
not a part of any government, but they are our partners.
They do great work and we're trying to help them
do what they need to do. So we work right
alongside FEMA and our local emergency management. We have contant
communication with our local emergency management management, either a county
(09:38):
or a parish, wherever you live in the country, to
make sure that we are collaborating, coordinating, and not duplicating efforts.
It's incredibly important that they are able to do the
work they need to do, We're able to do the
work that we do, and that together we're making that
mesh perfectly. Does it happen perfectly every time? Probably not,
(10:00):
but that is the goal. Well is to work alongside
all of the government and other nonprofits, But I want
to forget about them too. Sure takes a village to
do disaster relief, to do humanitarian work, and if it
weren't for our government partners, our nonprofit partners, our donors,
our volunteers, none of this could be possible.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
I wanted to drill down in our final couple of
minutes of some of the other things that you've mentioned
that the Red Cross does. This March American Red Cross Month,
and I imagine part of the purpose of the month
is to draw attention to all of the good things
that you do. We've talked a lot about disaster relief,
the life saving blood collection and donation that you do,
(10:43):
training courses and certifications. In terms of CPR things like
that give me a little bit of information about that
and how we could find out more about it.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
So, with our mission being to prevent alleviate human suffering
in the face of emergencies, we need people who are
trained to act there is a life threatening situation. So
we have CPR First Aid AED trainings that people can
go online and register for so that they are prepared
to help either a loved one in their own home
or someone they don't know out in the streets if
(11:15):
they see a medical emergency occur. We also work with
our hospitals too to get people trained in nursing and
in trauma care and so forth like that. With some
of our more extensive CPR classes, we teach swimming classes.
We want people to know how to swim and how
to be water safe. We teach lifeguarding and basically any
of those areas where we need to know that there
(11:37):
is going to be someone nearby who's going to be
able to react in the proper and best way to
save a life when needed. And I think that our
CPR work and our water safety work, all of it
is so critical to that mission of preventing and then
alleviating human suffering.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
You can find out how you could register for any
of those things near you by going to to the
website Redcross dot org. Final couple of things for you,
What advice would you give for someone interested in becoming
one of those volunteers with the American Red Cross.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
My advice would be get started today. There is a
lot of training that is needed. So we see people
wanting to volunteer when a hurricane hits their area, or
a wildfire or something like that, or maybe there's been
a disaster and they want to give blood. That's when
they start. But we want to remind everybody to get
ready before then because you need to be trained. There's
going to be things that we're going to teach you,
(12:33):
whether it's how to run a shelter or how to
drive a one of our mobile vehicles and all these
different things that we would need people to be trained
for and w who got bomb Now. It's kind of
like with our blood. We ask people to give blood
before it's needed because blood does take some time before
it goes from you the donor to the shelf to
(12:54):
be given to a patients. The same thing with volunteering.
Be ready ahead of time, and so when something happens,
you are ready to run, You're ready to go. I
just I think volunteering for the Red Cross is one
of the most impactful and fulfilling things that we can do.
(13:14):
And I just encourage everyone that if this has interested you,
to go on Redcross dot org now sign up and
you'll get a call from someone from your chapter, or
just call your local chapter.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Last thing for you. We've talked quite a bit about
the history of the Red Cross. What are the biggest
opportunities and challenges you see for the future of the organization.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
I think our biggest opportunity is to continue to recruit
new volunteers who are excited and ready to work in
any of these different fields, whether it's health and safety,
whether it's flood disaster, or our services to the armed forces.
That's a huge opportunity. And we know that a challenge
is that we are having more and more disasters. They're
(13:56):
more frequent, they're more intense. Unfortunately, that's it's just the
world we live in now, and so we know that
it's going to be a challenge to continue to respond
to disasters that are now happening on top of each other,
not with the long delays in between. These disasters that
be used to have, they're now happening one after the
other after the other, and so that's a challenge. And
(14:17):
the way to solve that is to have people like
all of you listening, become Repress volunteers and help us
meet that need.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
Redcross dot org is the website Redcross dot org. March
is American Red Cross Month. We've been speaking with Lori Arnold,
a Red Cross disaster relief team. Laurie, really appreciate the time.
Best of luck, not only this month but in the future.
Appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Thank you so much. I appreciate you too.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
It used to be you could only place a bet
on a sporting event at a casino or with a bookie.
Now sports betting has become ubiquitous in America with casinos,
sports betting apps. More Americans than ever are placing wagers
the Super Bowl, March Madness, NFL, and college football seasons.
Sports betting has increasingly become an accepted part of American culture.
(15:05):
But let's discuss the problem that has also come with it,
compulsive gambling. And for that part of it, we bring
in Jennifer Cross, executive director for the Florida Council on
Compulsive Gambling. Jennifer, great to talk to you. I appreciate
the time.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
It's great to be back.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
So, the biggest problem with increased gambling, with the ubiquity
of sports gaming apps and the acceptance of gambling on
sporting events is compulsive gambling. How big an issue has
that become in our country?
Speaker 3 (15:35):
So I think, you know, gambling has has gone beyond
the point of normalization and society. You know, it's even
more than normalized. There's gambling on everything nowadays. Right, with
increased accessibility and acceptability comes an increase in the vulnerability
to people developing a problem related to gambling. So certainly
the more accessible and acceptable something is, the more likely
(15:56):
more people are going to participate. And the more people
that participate, the more people that will develop problems.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
And it's hard to under to understate just how how
popular this has become. One of the numbers I have
is sports betting has gone from about four hundred and
thirty million in our country, this is legal wagering back
in twenty eighteen to about eleven billion dollars in twenty
twenty three.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
So yeah, and I mean I can't comment on the revenues.
You know, we we operate the State of Florida's eighty
eight ad Minute twenty four seven Problem Gambling Helpline, So
we don't take a position either for or against legalized gambling,
but we are here to help people who develop problems
with their gambling or for loved ones who you know,
have family members or friends who develop problems. What I
(16:42):
can tell you is that what we're seeing on the
helpline is definitely increased numbers of people reaching out, you know,
seeking help for their for themselves or for a loved one.
Our total contacts to the helpline have doubled over the
past calendar year. So if you're looking at you know,
pre sports betting legalization in the State of Florida, so
that would be you know, the twenty twenty three calendar
(17:04):
year compared with the twenty twenty four calendar year, we
went from about thirty three thousand total contacts to sixty
three thousand total contacts, so almost almost doubled.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
How much of that has to do with sports betting
and how much of it is people like obsessed with
playing the lottery and stuff like that. Could do you
have those numbers.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
So yeah, I mean I can tell you more about
the sports betting right now. It's definitely you know, people
are gambling on more things. I would say to you
that the lottery is always the number one, number two
thing that people are gambling on, if that makes sense.
So somebody might call the helpline or text the helpline
or you know, chat with us and say, oh, I'm
reaching out because you know, I just lost everything on
(17:46):
SLAT or I just lost everything on the on the game.
But when we ask them, well, do you also play
the lottery?
Speaker 1 (17:51):
Oh well yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
You know a lot of times the lottery isn't even
looked at by people. They don't they don't bring it
up unless we ask them specifically. So yes, I would
see to you that lottery play is definitely increasing as well.
You know, when we're looking at just online sports betting
from you know, pre legalization to post legalization, we saw
one hundred and thirty percent increase in help only contacts
(18:14):
where online gambling was reported online sports betting in particular
as the primary gambling problem.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
What is it that makes someone become obsessed with gambling?
I imagine placing about at least I've read highlights the
same brain centers as doing cocaine does. For example, is
that is that what gets them addicted.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
For everybody, every individual person is different, right, There are
risk factors that can make certain people more predisposed to
develop a problem than others. You know, recent research has
identified that participation in multiple types of gambling activities, so
gambling on more than just one thing, you know, doing
sports betting, going to the casino, playing the lottery, that
increases someone's risk. Unrealistic beliefs about gambling, so believing that,
(18:59):
you know, ambling is a good way to make money.
You know, I've seen helpline callers that have said, and
this is a younger demographic that we're seeing too with
the online sports betting, and they'll say, you know, oh, well,
you know, I got into online sports betting because I
thought it was a good way to make money and
I could increase my revenue stream. You know, So having
unrealistic beliefs about gambling in general, you know, to make
(19:19):
somebody more likely to develop a problem. Yeah, Also participation
in sports betting. You know, we have research here in
the state of Florida that is from decades ago, so long, long,
long before sports betting was legalized anywhere in the country,
much less in Florida, and sports betting was the number
two activity cited amongst adolescent gamblers. That was in two
thousand and two. You're talking over two decades ago. Same
(19:45):
thing with college students, you know, they liked gambling on
sports way back when. I mean our college study was
two thousand and eight, and back then.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
They weren't placing those bets legally. That was usually through
a bookie or something like that, wasn't it.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Yep, back then it was they said they were placed
them through bookies, betting amongst friends. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
A new paper file to your point about adolescents and
younger people gambling the lands that I think it was,
published a report back in November. They found that between
sixty and eighty percent of high school students admitted to
have gambled a place they bet on something in the
last year, and sixteen percent of those this is adolescents
(20:25):
who bet on sports eventually developed a gambling addiction. Is
that something that you're finding at the helpline?
Speaker 3 (20:34):
So yeah, and again our helpline data, so our helpline
data is restrictive to just a small percentage of the population.
That's experiencing a problem and that actually reaches out for help. Right,
So unfortunately, Florida is in desperate, desperate need of current
research because these studies that I just mentioned were conducted
decades ago, and those are prevalent studies. So that's you know,
(20:56):
looking at the prevalence of a gambling problem in the population.
So so two separate things when we're talking helpline data
versus you know, research or prevalence studies. What we're seeing
on helpline is, yes, almost half when I'm looking at
just the online sports betting population in the twenty twenty
four calendar year, almost half forty three percent. We're twenty
(21:17):
five years old and younger. So that is, you know,
that's a huge number. And that's that's a percentage or
a group of people that historically we would have never
seen reaching out for help on a helpline.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
We're speaking with Jennifer Krause, executive director the Florida Council
on Compulsive Gambling. I imagine far and wide, the ones
that come to you for help are males.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Yeah, we definitely skew have, you know, heavier towards men.
But what I will say is for the first time
ever this past year, we are seeing women reaching out
for help with sports betting. So historically that would have
never been the case. There wouldn't have been any women
in the sample, so it was it was still ninety
percent three percent women, but just to see that that
is a growing group.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Definitely, with so many states now having legalized sports betting,
do you see the same kind of trends across the country.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Our data is specific to Florida, but yeah, I mean
I've read the studies that you sent that you know
we're talking about here. It's Landslip study, and I think
there was another one, and yeah, our data definitely is
similar trends. What I will say to is we're not
seeing the high levels of bankruptcy that I think we're
cited in one of those studies. Right, we haven't seen
(22:30):
that yet. But what I would say is, you know,
sports betting is new in terms of its legalization here
in Florida, so you know, we'll have to monitor that
as time goes on. We are seeing with the sports
betters they have higher incomes than gamblers of other types.
So we're looking at average incomes amongst the sports betters
about one hundred and eight thousand versus sixty one thousand
of gamblers of all other types of gambling in.
Speaker 4 (22:51):
Terms of however, yeah, yeah, However, these sports betters, even
though they're making more money, they're reporting financial related difficulties
as their most you know, most frequent precipitating event for
seeking help.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
So they're making more, but they're spending more.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Do people that come to you, that that that call
the helpline realize they have a problem before they've hit
rock bottom or and reach out for help or is
it like like we would picture a drug addict, They're
not going to seek help until they hit absolute rock bottom.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
I think for everybody it's different. You know, some people
they're they're at that rock bottom point. Other people maybe
they're not quite sure and they reach out and they
might not be ready to get help at that moment,
and then they contact us back, you know, a few
months later, Okay, now I'm really ready to get help, certainly.
You know, hitting that rock bottom is a big thing
with with gambling addiction. It's it's the hidden addiction, right,
(23:45):
there's no outward symptoms, there's no tell tale signs, and
there's no saturation point. I think that's really the big thing.
You know, with with a chemical, with a drug or
you know, substance, you can only ingest so much of
that substance before your body can't take anymore, and you
know you have a physical reaction to it. With gambling,
you can, you know, with a click of a mouse
gamble away a million dollars and you're still sitting there right,
(24:08):
So you know a lot of times they are financially
depleted when they when they reach out.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Is the Is the treatment different for somebody who is
addicted to gambling as someone who is addicted to drugs
or alcohol.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
Yes, yes, absolutely, And that's why you know, through the
helpline we only refer to certified gambling addiction counselors. You know,
there's a state certification and a national certification, and we
will only refer callers to programs, whether it's you know,
outputing counseling or residential program that has a certified gambling
addiction counselors and tracks specific for gamblers. Because even though
(24:45):
there are similarities to substance abuse addictions, there's there's a
lot of differences too, So yeah, it's definitely treated differently.
So the only way to really measure efficacy in terms
of you know, following someone along their journey and saying
did you get better? Is is if you're you know
you're you're involved in their treatment. We do on our
helpline on an eighty day a minute helpline. We do
a helpline evaluation every year, and we follow up with
(25:08):
helpline contacts. But again, those are just the percentage of
people that are willing to a divulge their phone number,
their name, and agree to a follow up call to
see how they're doing. But I will tell you that
our helpline evaluations, usually ninety seven percent, are higher the
people that we follow up with have their gambling behaviors
have improved. First helpline contact.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
How often do you get calls from somebody saying, my husband,
my son, my brother or whatever is addicted to gaming?
How can I help them? And what's the advice you
give them?
Speaker 3 (25:39):
Yeah, so that happens frequently. I mean, I would say
that more of the helpline contacts are from the gamblers,
but there's a lot to come from loved ones. And
what we tell that loved one is that you can
get help for yourself, regardless of if the gambler in
your life wants to stop gambling or wants to get help,
or sees it as a problem. Sometimes you know, a
gambler's gambling affects the family members or more so even
(26:02):
than themselves. So yeah, our message is there's help for
those family members totally regardless of if that gambler ever
stops or wants to acknowledge it. And there are tools
and resources that we provide that are loved ones specific.
Like so like our Chances for Change Workbooks, we have
an entire series that's dedicated to loved ones. There's eight
books in the series. We send them, I'm sorry, seven
(26:24):
books in the series we send them. There's there's eight
modules in our online program, totally separate program. But this
is the Chance for Change Workbooks. So when we can
send them on demand right there when we're talking to them,
you know, I can send them an electronic copy, I
can send them an audio copy. The seven books, Each
one talks about a different area of their life as
a loved one, it's impacted by a problem gambler, and
things they can do to help. So like it talks
(26:45):
about codependence, breaking the cycle. It talks about controlling your finances,
ways to not enable you know, just different things that
can help that loved one protect themselves and get help
from themselves and then you know, evaluate their situation and
decide what they want to do.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
We're all familiar with the commercials for you know, for
alcohol or whatever, drink responsibly. Many of us that live
in states where gamble, where sports gambling has has increased,
our familiar with the you know, bet responsibily things like that.
Do those things work?
Speaker 3 (27:15):
So I think it's important messaging and and it's the
access to help that matters. Right. You can't get help
if you don't know that that help exists. Right, So
whether or not telling somebody to play responsibly means they're
going to play responsibly or not, that's not really what matters.
It's providing that helpline number and making sure that that
help by number is on all of those ads where
it says play responsibly, So not just play responsibly, but
(27:37):
play responsibly. And if you can't, here's the number. It's
seeing that number and knowing that number and being able
to access the help that's so essential.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
I imagine. Obviously here in Florida, we've got your helpline,
the Florida Council on Compulsive gamling. But I imagine there's one
of those nationally or in every state where they have gambling.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
So yeah, and the problem with the national numbers, so
I'm sure you see the one hundred gambler number advertised
frequently on the sports betting channels. The problem with that
number in states like Florida, Okay, where Florida has a
specific problem gambling helpline for the state of Florida, that's
eighty eight. Admitute, our number is not GEO targeted based
upon a caller's area code. The eight hundred gambler number is.
(28:16):
So you know Florida. You know, people come and go
in Florida all the time. People are always moving here.
I think we're probably one of the most transient states
in the nation. People retired, they come here, they come
here for school. So if you come here with a
cell phone that has an area code from a different
state and you call eight hundred gambler, you're going to
go to the state where your cell phone that area
code originates. And when you're talking about a problem gambler
(28:39):
that's in desperate need of help at that specific moment,
sending them to the wrong state. Can I mean it
can be critical. You know, that can make the difference
in someone getting help or not getting help. So it's
very important that in states that have state specific numbers,
if that's the number that's advertising, that people know, you know,
the difference in the limitations with that one hundred gambler
(29:00):
number because it is not a good a good number
for the state of Florida.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
So the bottom line is anybody that wants help, that
thinks they have a problem with gambling can find that
information those resources in any given state.
Speaker 3 (29:12):
Correct, correct, And again you know, we answer, we answer
the calls to one hundred gamblers here at the Florida
Council for people with Florida area codes.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
All right, eight eight eight eight admitted is the number
for the Florida Council on Compulsive Gaming Gambling. If you're
listening anywhere else, you could search for your individual state.
Jennifer Krause, Executive director for the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling,
Thanks so much for your time and talking to us
about this this incredibly important and growing issue in our country.
Thanks so much, Jennifer.
Speaker 3 (29:42):
Thank you so much for having me and for help
and increase awareness.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
And that'll do it for another edition of Iheartradios Communities.
I'm Manny Muno's until next time.
Welcome to iHeartRadio Communities, a public affairs special focusing on
the biggest issues in facting you this week. Here's many
munhos and welcome to another edition of Iheartradios Communities. As
you heard, I am Manny Muno's. As we kick off
the month of March, we acknowledge some of the groups
(00:21):
and issues that use this month to bring attention to
certain things. One of them is the American Red Cross.
What they do, their mission, their history. Let's talk about
all of that as we bring in Laurie Arnold with
the Red Cross disaster relief team based in Little Rock, Arkansas. Laurie,
I appreciate you sharing your time.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
Thanks so much, Thanks so much for having me, Thanks
for letting us talk about the Red Cross and all
we do.
Speaker 1 (00:43):
Yeah, so let me start off with that. What is
the American Red Cross and what exactly is it that
you do?
Speaker 2 (00:50):
Well, the American Red Cross has been around since eighteen
eighty one. We have a long history of working with
our military members with collecting block and was responding to
disaster and providing essential training for people to save lives.
So that's us on a nutshell, and it's great that
we're actually talking here at March because this is Red
(01:11):
Cross Months.
Speaker 1 (01:13):
How did March become a American Red Cross Month?
Speaker 2 (01:18):
Well about eighty years ago. In nineteen forty three, to
be exact, President Franklin D. Roosevelt. He issued the first
presidential proclamation to declare March as a Red Cross Month.
It was an effort to raise funds for aid during
the Second World War. And every US president since it
has followed suit and has claimed Red Cross or claimed
(01:39):
March to be Red Cross Months every year.
Speaker 1 (01:41):
What were the original I'm sorry to interrupt.
Speaker 2 (01:44):
Go ahead, Oh no, no, I was going to say, it's
a great opportunity for us to honor all the amazing
Red Cross volunteers that we have, the blood donors and
of course are financial supporters as well.
Speaker 1 (01:55):
Have the original goals changed since the Red Cross was
founded so long ago.
Speaker 2 (02:02):
The original goals have not changed.
Speaker 1 (02:04):
No.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
Now, some of the details have changed, of course, but
we really started out with Claire Barton on the battlefield
supporting wounded soldiers. We've continued that tradition all the way
through to today where we still have support for our
military members. We actually provide the emergency communications for our
military in the US and we continue that long history.
(02:27):
She also immediately as soon as the Red Cross was formed,
began supporting during disaster time. So during floods and hurricanes, earthquakes,
she was there and the Red Cross is there supporting
those victims of those natural disasters. Shortly after actually was
in around nineteen forty, we began the blood program, collecting blood.
(02:49):
And the goal of the Red Cross has always been
to alleviate human suffering in the face of emergency, to
prevent an alleviate human suffering. And so even though the
detail has changed here and there, that has been our
goal ever since eighteen eighty one.
Speaker 1 (03:05):
And it feels like any time there is a natural disaster,
some sort of public suffering, the Red Cross always seem
to be like they're the first ones on the scene
to help.
Speaker 2 (03:15):
So, you know, that's what we're trained to do. You know,
I work in the disaster side of things, and you know,
right now we've got more than one hundred and fifty
Red Cross volunteers and workers on the ground in Kentucky
supporting the flooding that happened just a couple of weeks ago.
So yes, that's something that we are trained to do.
We're ready to do the open shelters, We provide feeding,
(03:35):
we give out emergency supply. We support people with their
healthcare needs during the disaster, so i they've lost medication
or any kind of medical equipment someh we else to
support them with mental health and spiritual care as well,
because we know that disasters affect all parts of us,
not just the physical.
Speaker 1 (03:52):
Yeah, talk to me about the many different ways that
our listeners can help the Red Cross, because I know
obviously financial donations, but also actually taking part themselves.
Speaker 2 (04:03):
Definitely, there's so many ways that people can get involved
in the Red Cross. As you mentioned financial support. You know,
we're always looking for people to help because we are
funded by the general public. But not everybody's able to
do that. Some people want to actually get their hands
involved and get involved themselves. So we encourage anyone who
is interested to get involved as a volunteer. Call your
(04:25):
local chapter. We've got chapters all over the country in
every single state able to engage you and help you
learn what your interest is in the different ways that
you can support with the Red Cross as a volunteer.
And then of course there's blood donations and in fact,
in the munch of March, Mark in the months of March,
all blood donors who make a successful blood or platelet
(04:47):
donation will actually provide free will actually receive a free
A one C screening, which is a test that's commonly
used to identify diabetes and pre diabetes of the US.
It's part of our health initiative. We want to offer
that to people in the month of March if they
to donate blood.
Speaker 1 (05:06):
And the website for all the information on the Red
Cross is Redcross dot org. Red Cross dot org. It
seems like we mentioned the natural disaster, the response to
those types of things. It seems like the blood donation,
the blood collection is what Americans generally associate with the
Red Cross these days.
Speaker 3 (05:26):
That is true.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
You know, anytime I speak to a group, I always
ask what do you think of when you think of
Red Cross, and immediately the answers are blood and disaster,
and those things are true. We do support both of
those places. But we also do health and safety training.
So if you've ever taken a CPR class or a
swimming class or lifeguarding, Red Cross offers that we offer.
(05:48):
Of course, I mentioned the support to our military, the
emergency communications. Beyond that, we work in a lot of
veterans Tones and VA hospitals to support those hospitalized veterans
who have given to our country and we want to
support them as they continue through their lives. And then
of course we are part of a global Red Cross
and Red Crescent movement, so we are part of that
(06:11):
global network of dedicated people volunteers who want to help
relieve human sufferings.
Speaker 1 (06:19):
Difference between Red Cross and Red Crescent.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
Very little difference other than the fact that, and this
is a little bit of fun history for you, the
American Red Cross was never a religious cross, but it's
always been a very neutral organization. That is one of
our seven fundamental principles is that we are neutral and
partial and independent. But in some countries the Cross was
still seen as potentially a religious emblem, and so the
(06:47):
Red Crescent was also developed for some nations to use.
And then we also have a red crystal which is
less used but still fits into the concepts so that
if anyone does feel that there's a religious connotations that
is removed.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
You mentioned seven things. What are the seven things you
just mentioned?
Speaker 2 (07:05):
So our seven fundamental principles are humanity first. Obviously, that's
what we are as a humanitarian organization, and we care
about the humanity of the people we live with, and communalists, impartiality, neutrality, independence,
all of those are a way of us being able
to support everyone without any concern for their race, their religion,
(07:26):
their creed, their political stance. All those things are not
important to us because we are here for humanity. And
then we've got voluntary service, so we are made up
of ninety percent volunteers unity. So we are a one
or one Red Cross and every nation can only have
one Red Cross or Red Crescent, and the final one
is universality because we are a part of that global movement.
Speaker 1 (07:49):
Speaking with Laurie Arnold with the Red Cross Disaster Relief
Team about March being American Red Cross Month, you've mentioned volunteers.
What role have volunteers played in shaping the American Red
Cross over the years, because I imagine you couldn't do
any of the things you do without their help.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
That is one hundred percent true. As I said before,
we are ninety percent workforce volunteer. We use volunteers for
literally everything. Our volunteers are the ones who are out
on the ground during a disaster, so are the ones
who are planning our Blood drives and helping those blood
drives get set up in different places. Our volunteers are
(08:30):
the ones in the VA hospitals, are the ones who
are helping with those emergency communications. They're doing everything from
casework for the people that we're serving to raising awareness
about the Red Cross out in the community. They're behind
the scenes helping keep our facilities running. Everything you can
think of. We're using volunteers to do that because everyone
(08:51):
has a different skill set, and we can use your
skill set almost regardless of what it is. We have
a place for you the Red Cross.
Speaker 1 (08:58):
How do you work with government, because especially on disaster response,
you don't want to get in the way of the
initial government response, whether it's state or federal, but you
also want to be able to be there to assist
in how that response is taking place.
Speaker 2 (09:14):
Certainly, so I'll mention again that you know, one of
our seven seven fundamental principles is independent, so we are
not a part of any government, but they are our partners.
They do great work and we're trying to help them
do what they need to do. So we work right
alongside FEMA and our local emergency management. We have contant
communication with our local emergency management management, either a county
(09:38):
or a parish, wherever you live in the country, to
make sure that we are collaborating, coordinating, and not duplicating efforts.
It's incredibly important that they are able to do the
work they need to do, We're able to do the
work that we do, and that together we're making that
mesh perfectly. Does it happen perfectly every time? Probably not,
(10:00):
but that is the goal. Well is to work alongside
all of the government and other nonprofits, But I want
to forget about them too. Sure takes a village to
do disaster relief, to do humanitarian work, and if it
weren't for our government partners, our nonprofit partners, our donors,
our volunteers, none of this could be possible.
Speaker 1 (10:22):
I wanted to drill down in our final couple of
minutes of some of the other things that you've mentioned
that the Red Cross does. This March American Red Cross Month,
and I imagine part of the purpose of the month
is to draw attention to all of the good things
that you do. We've talked a lot about disaster relief,
the life saving blood collection and donation that you do,
(10:43):
training courses and certifications. In terms of CPR things like
that give me a little bit of information about that
and how we could find out more about it.
Speaker 2 (10:53):
So, with our mission being to prevent alleviate human suffering
in the face of emergencies, we need people who are
trained to act there is a life threatening situation. So
we have CPR First Aid AED trainings that people can
go online and register for so that they are prepared
to help either a loved one in their own home
or someone they don't know out in the streets if
(11:15):
they see a medical emergency occur. We also work with
our hospitals too to get people trained in nursing and
in trauma care and so forth like that. With some
of our more extensive CPR classes, we teach swimming classes.
We want people to know how to swim and how
to be water safe. We teach lifeguarding and basically any
of those areas where we need to know that there
(11:37):
is going to be someone nearby who's going to be
able to react in the proper and best way to
save a life when needed. And I think that our
CPR work and our water safety work, all of it
is so critical to that mission of preventing and then
alleviating human suffering.
Speaker 1 (11:56):
You can find out how you could register for any
of those things near you by going to to the
website Redcross dot org. Final couple of things for you,
What advice would you give for someone interested in becoming
one of those volunteers with the American Red Cross.
Speaker 2 (12:11):
My advice would be get started today. There is a
lot of training that is needed. So we see people
wanting to volunteer when a hurricane hits their area, or
a wildfire or something like that, or maybe there's been
a disaster and they want to give blood. That's when
they start. But we want to remind everybody to get
ready before then because you need to be trained. There's
going to be things that we're going to teach you,
(12:33):
whether it's how to run a shelter or how to
drive a one of our mobile vehicles and all these
different things that we would need people to be trained
for and w who got bomb Now. It's kind of
like with our blood. We ask people to give blood
before it's needed because blood does take some time before
it goes from you the donor to the shelf to
(12:54):
be given to a patients. The same thing with volunteering.
Be ready ahead of time, and so when something happens,
you are ready to run, You're ready to go. I
just I think volunteering for the Red Cross is one
of the most impactful and fulfilling things that we can do.
(13:14):
And I just encourage everyone that if this has interested you,
to go on Redcross dot org now sign up and
you'll get a call from someone from your chapter, or
just call your local chapter.
Speaker 1 (13:24):
Last thing for you. We've talked quite a bit about
the history of the Red Cross. What are the biggest
opportunities and challenges you see for the future of the organization.
Speaker 2 (13:34):
I think our biggest opportunity is to continue to recruit
new volunteers who are excited and ready to work in
any of these different fields, whether it's health and safety,
whether it's flood disaster, or our services to the armed forces.
That's a huge opportunity. And we know that a challenge
is that we are having more and more disasters. They're
(13:56):
more frequent, they're more intense. Unfortunately, that's it's just the
world we live in now, and so we know that
it's going to be a challenge to continue to respond
to disasters that are now happening on top of each other,
not with the long delays in between. These disasters that
be used to have, they're now happening one after the
other after the other, and so that's a challenge. And
(14:17):
the way to solve that is to have people like
all of you listening, become Repress volunteers and help us
meet that need.
Speaker 1 (14:24):
Redcross dot org is the website Redcross dot org. March
is American Red Cross Month. We've been speaking with Lori Arnold,
a Red Cross disaster relief team. Laurie, really appreciate the time.
Best of luck, not only this month but in the future.
Appreciate it.
Speaker 2 (14:39):
Thank you so much. I appreciate you too.
Speaker 1 (14:41):
It used to be you could only place a bet
on a sporting event at a casino or with a bookie.
Now sports betting has become ubiquitous in America with casinos,
sports betting apps. More Americans than ever are placing wagers
the Super Bowl, March Madness, NFL, and college football seasons.
Sports betting has increasingly become an accepted part of American culture.
(15:05):
But let's discuss the problem that has also come with it,
compulsive gambling. And for that part of it, we bring
in Jennifer Cross, executive director for the Florida Council on
Compulsive Gambling. Jennifer, great to talk to you. I appreciate
the time.
Speaker 3 (15:19):
Thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 2 (15:20):
It's great to be back.
Speaker 1 (15:21):
So, the biggest problem with increased gambling, with the ubiquity
of sports gaming apps and the acceptance of gambling on
sporting events is compulsive gambling. How big an issue has
that become in our country?
Speaker 3 (15:35):
So I think, you know, gambling has has gone beyond
the point of normalization and society. You know, it's even
more than normalized. There's gambling on everything nowadays. Right, with
increased accessibility and acceptability comes an increase in the vulnerability
to people developing a problem related to gambling. So certainly
the more accessible and acceptable something is, the more likely
(15:56):
more people are going to participate. And the more people
that participate, the more people that will develop problems.
Speaker 1 (16:02):
And it's hard to under to understate just how how
popular this has become. One of the numbers I have
is sports betting has gone from about four hundred and
thirty million in our country, this is legal wagering back
in twenty eighteen to about eleven billion dollars in twenty
twenty three.
Speaker 3 (16:22):
So yeah, and I mean I can't comment on the revenues.
You know, we we operate the State of Florida's eighty
eight ad Minute twenty four seven Problem Gambling Helpline, So
we don't take a position either for or against legalized gambling,
but we are here to help people who develop problems
with their gambling or for loved ones who you know,
have family members or friends who develop problems. What I
(16:42):
can tell you is that what we're seeing on the
helpline is definitely increased numbers of people reaching out, you know,
seeking help for their for themselves or for a loved one.
Our total contacts to the helpline have doubled over the
past calendar year. So if you're looking at you know,
pre sports betting legalization in the State of Florida, so
that would be you know, the twenty twenty three calendar
(17:04):
year compared with the twenty twenty four calendar year, we
went from about thirty three thousand total contacts to sixty
three thousand total contacts, so almost almost doubled.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
How much of that has to do with sports betting
and how much of it is people like obsessed with
playing the lottery and stuff like that. Could do you
have those numbers.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
So yeah, I mean I can tell you more about
the sports betting right now. It's definitely you know, people
are gambling on more things. I would say to you
that the lottery is always the number one, number two
thing that people are gambling on, if that makes sense.
So somebody might call the helpline or text the helpline
or you know, chat with us and say, oh, I'm
reaching out because you know, I just lost everything on
(17:46):
SLAT or I just lost everything on the on the game.
But when we ask them, well, do you also play
the lottery?
Speaker 1 (17:51):
Oh well yeah.
Speaker 3 (17:52):
You know a lot of times the lottery isn't even
looked at by people. They don't they don't bring it
up unless we ask them specifically. So yes, I would
see to you that lottery play is definitely increasing as well.
You know, when we're looking at just online sports betting
from you know, pre legalization to post legalization, we saw
one hundred and thirty percent increase in help only contacts
(18:14):
where online gambling was reported online sports betting in particular
as the primary gambling problem.
Speaker 1 (18:19):
What is it that makes someone become obsessed with gambling?
I imagine placing about at least I've read highlights the
same brain centers as doing cocaine does. For example, is
that is that what gets them addicted.
Speaker 3 (18:34):
For everybody, every individual person is different, right, There are
risk factors that can make certain people more predisposed to
develop a problem than others. You know, recent research has
identified that participation in multiple types of gambling activities, so
gambling on more than just one thing, you know, doing
sports betting, going to the casino, playing the lottery, that
increases someone's risk. Unrealistic beliefs about gambling, so believing that,
(18:59):
you know, ambling is a good way to make money.
You know, I've seen helpline callers that have said, and
this is a younger demographic that we're seeing too with
the online sports betting, and they'll say, you know, oh, well,
you know, I got into online sports betting because I
thought it was a good way to make money and
I could increase my revenue stream. You know, So having
unrealistic beliefs about gambling in general, you know, to make
(19:19):
somebody more likely to develop a problem. Yeah, Also participation
in sports betting. You know, we have research here in
the state of Florida that is from decades ago, so long, long,
long before sports betting was legalized anywhere in the country,
much less in Florida, and sports betting was the number
two activity cited amongst adolescent gamblers. That was in two
thousand and two. You're talking over two decades ago. Same
(19:45):
thing with college students, you know, they liked gambling on
sports way back when. I mean our college study was
two thousand and eight, and back then.
Speaker 1 (19:53):
They weren't placing those bets legally. That was usually through
a bookie or something like that, wasn't it.
Speaker 3 (19:57):
Yep, back then it was they said they were placed
them through bookies, betting amongst friends. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (20:04):
A new paper file to your point about adolescents and
younger people gambling the lands that I think it was,
published a report back in November. They found that between
sixty and eighty percent of high school students admitted to
have gambled a place they bet on something in the
last year, and sixteen percent of those this is adolescents
(20:25):
who bet on sports eventually developed a gambling addiction. Is
that something that you're finding at the helpline?
Speaker 3 (20:34):
So yeah, and again our helpline data, so our helpline
data is restrictive to just a small percentage of the population.
That's experiencing a problem and that actually reaches out for help. Right,
So unfortunately, Florida is in desperate, desperate need of current
research because these studies that I just mentioned were conducted
decades ago, and those are prevalent studies. So that's you know,
(20:56):
looking at the prevalence of a gambling problem in the population.
So so two separate things when we're talking helpline data
versus you know, research or prevalence studies. What we're seeing
on helpline is, yes, almost half when I'm looking at
just the online sports betting population in the twenty twenty
four calendar year, almost half forty three percent. We're twenty
(21:17):
five years old and younger. So that is, you know,
that's a huge number. And that's that's a percentage or
a group of people that historically we would have never
seen reaching out for help on a helpline.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
We're speaking with Jennifer Krause, executive director the Florida Council
on Compulsive Gambling. I imagine far and wide, the ones
that come to you for help are males.
Speaker 3 (21:39):
Yeah, we definitely skew have, you know, heavier towards men.
But what I will say is for the first time
ever this past year, we are seeing women reaching out
for help with sports betting. So historically that would have
never been the case. There wouldn't have been any women
in the sample, so it was it was still ninety
percent three percent women, but just to see that that
is a growing group.
Speaker 1 (22:00):
Definitely, with so many states now having legalized sports betting,
do you see the same kind of trends across the country.
Speaker 3 (22:08):
Our data is specific to Florida, but yeah, I mean
I've read the studies that you sent that you know
we're talking about here. It's Landslip study, and I think
there was another one, and yeah, our data definitely is
similar trends. What I will say to is we're not
seeing the high levels of bankruptcy that I think we're
cited in one of those studies. Right, we haven't seen
(22:30):
that yet. But what I would say is, you know,
sports betting is new in terms of its legalization here
in Florida, so you know, we'll have to monitor that
as time goes on. We are seeing with the sports
betters they have higher incomes than gamblers of other types.
So we're looking at average incomes amongst the sports betters
about one hundred and eight thousand versus sixty one thousand
of gamblers of all other types of gambling in.
Speaker 4 (22:51):
Terms of however, yeah, yeah, However, these sports betters, even
though they're making more money, they're reporting financial related difficulties
as their most you know, most frequent precipitating event for
seeking help.
Speaker 3 (23:03):
So they're making more, but they're spending more.
Speaker 1 (23:05):
Do people that come to you, that that that call
the helpline realize they have a problem before they've hit
rock bottom or and reach out for help or is
it like like we would picture a drug addict, They're
not going to seek help until they hit absolute rock bottom.
Speaker 3 (23:23):
I think for everybody it's different. You know, some people
they're they're at that rock bottom point. Other people maybe
they're not quite sure and they reach out and they
might not be ready to get help at that moment,
and then they contact us back, you know, a few
months later, Okay, now I'm really ready to get help, certainly.
You know, hitting that rock bottom is a big thing
with with gambling addiction. It's it's the hidden addiction, right,
(23:45):
there's no outward symptoms, there's no tell tale signs, and
there's no saturation point. I think that's really the big thing.
You know, with with a chemical, with a drug or
you know, substance, you can only ingest so much of
that substance before your body can't take anymore, and you
know you have a physical reaction to it. With gambling,
you can, you know, with a click of a mouse
gamble away a million dollars and you're still sitting there right,
(24:08):
So you know a lot of times they are financially
depleted when they when they reach out.
Speaker 1 (24:12):
Is the Is the treatment different for somebody who is
addicted to gambling as someone who is addicted to drugs
or alcohol.
Speaker 3 (24:22):
Yes, yes, absolutely, And that's why you know, through the
helpline we only refer to certified gambling addiction counselors. You know,
there's a state certification and a national certification, and we
will only refer callers to programs, whether it's you know,
outputing counseling or residential program that has a certified gambling
addiction counselors and tracks specific for gamblers. Because even though
(24:45):
there are similarities to substance abuse addictions, there's there's a
lot of differences too, So yeah, it's definitely treated differently.
So the only way to really measure efficacy in terms
of you know, following someone along their journey and saying
did you get better? Is is if you're you know
you're you're involved in their treatment. We do on our
helpline on an eighty day a minute helpline. We do
a helpline evaluation every year, and we follow up with
(25:08):
helpline contacts. But again, those are just the percentage of
people that are willing to a divulge their phone number,
their name, and agree to a follow up call to
see how they're doing. But I will tell you that
our helpline evaluations, usually ninety seven percent, are higher the
people that we follow up with have their gambling behaviors
have improved. First helpline contact.
Speaker 1 (25:28):
How often do you get calls from somebody saying, my husband,
my son, my brother or whatever is addicted to gaming?
How can I help them? And what's the advice you
give them?
Speaker 3 (25:39):
Yeah, so that happens frequently. I mean, I would say
that more of the helpline contacts are from the gamblers,
but there's a lot to come from loved ones. And
what we tell that loved one is that you can
get help for yourself, regardless of if the gambler in
your life wants to stop gambling or wants to get help,
or sees it as a problem. Sometimes you know, a
gambler's gambling affects the family members or more so even
(26:02):
than themselves. So yeah, our message is there's help for
those family members totally regardless of if that gambler ever
stops or wants to acknowledge it. And there are tools
and resources that we provide that are loved ones specific.
Like so like our Chances for Change Workbooks, we have
an entire series that's dedicated to loved ones. There's eight
books in the series. We send them, I'm sorry, seven
(26:24):
books in the series we send them. There's there's eight
modules in our online program, totally separate program. But this
is the Chance for Change Workbooks. So when we can
send them on demand right there when we're talking to them,
you know, I can send them an electronic copy, I
can send them an audio copy. The seven books, Each
one talks about a different area of their life as
a loved one, it's impacted by a problem gambler, and
things they can do to help. So like it talks
(26:45):
about codependence, breaking the cycle. It talks about controlling your finances,
ways to not enable you know, just different things that
can help that loved one protect themselves and get help
from themselves and then you know, evaluate their situation and
decide what they want to do.
Speaker 1 (27:00):
We're all familiar with the commercials for you know, for
alcohol or whatever, drink responsibly. Many of us that live
in states where gamble, where sports gambling has has increased,
our familiar with the you know, bet responsibily things like that.
Do those things work?
Speaker 3 (27:15):
So I think it's important messaging and and it's the
access to help that matters. Right. You can't get help
if you don't know that that help exists. Right, So
whether or not telling somebody to play responsibly means they're
going to play responsibly or not, that's not really what matters.
It's providing that helpline number and making sure that that
help by number is on all of those ads where
it says play responsibly, So not just play responsibly, but
(27:37):
play responsibly. And if you can't, here's the number. It's
seeing that number and knowing that number and being able
to access the help that's so essential.
Speaker 1 (27:44):
I imagine. Obviously here in Florida, we've got your helpline,
the Florida Council on Compulsive gamling. But I imagine there's one
of those nationally or in every state where they have gambling.
Speaker 3 (27:54):
So yeah, and the problem with the national numbers, so
I'm sure you see the one hundred gambler number advertised
frequently on the sports betting channels. The problem with that
number in states like Florida, Okay, where Florida has a
specific problem gambling helpline for the state of Florida, that's
eighty eight. Admitute, our number is not GEO targeted based
upon a caller's area code. The eight hundred gambler number is.
(28:16):
So you know Florida. You know, people come and go
in Florida all the time. People are always moving here.
I think we're probably one of the most transient states
in the nation. People retired, they come here, they come
here for school. So if you come here with a
cell phone that has an area code from a different
state and you call eight hundred gambler, you're going to
go to the state where your cell phone that area
code originates. And when you're talking about a problem gambler
(28:39):
that's in desperate need of help at that specific moment,
sending them to the wrong state. Can I mean it
can be critical. You know, that can make the difference
in someone getting help or not getting help. So it's
very important that in states that have state specific numbers,
if that's the number that's advertising, that people know, you know,
the difference in the limitations with that one hundred gambler
(29:00):
number because it is not a good a good number
for the state of Florida.
Speaker 1 (29:04):
So the bottom line is anybody that wants help, that
thinks they have a problem with gambling can find that
information those resources in any given state.
Speaker 3 (29:12):
Correct, correct, And again you know, we answer, we answer
the calls to one hundred gamblers here at the Florida
Council for people with Florida area codes.
Speaker 1 (29:21):
All right, eight eight eight eight admitted is the number
for the Florida Council on Compulsive Gaming Gambling. If you're
listening anywhere else, you could search for your individual state.
Jennifer Krause, Executive director for the Florida Council on Compulsive Gambling,
Thanks so much for your time and talking to us
about this this incredibly important and growing issue in our country.
Thanks so much, Jennifer.
Speaker 3 (29:42):
Thank you so much for having me and for help
and increase awareness.
Speaker 1 (29:45):
And that'll do it for another edition of Iheartradios Communities.
I'm Manny Muno's until next time.
Host
Manny Munoz
Popular Podcasts
The Breakfast Club
The World's Most Dangerous Morning Show, The Breakfast Club, With DJ Envy And Charlamagne Tha God!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Decisions, Decisions
Welcome to "Decisions, Decisions," the podcast where boundaries are pushed, and conversations get candid! Join your favorite hosts, Mandii B and WeezyWTF, as they dive deep into the world of non-traditional relationships and explore the often-taboo topics surrounding dating, sex, and love. Every Monday, Mandii and Weezy invite you to unlearn the outdated narratives dictated by traditional patriarchal norms. With a blend of humor, vulnerability, and authenticity, they share their personal journeys navigating their 30s, tackling the complexities of modern relationships, and engaging in thought-provoking discussions that challenge societal expectations. From groundbreaking interviews with diverse guests to relatable stories that resonate with your experiences, "Decisions, Decisions" is your go-to source for open dialogue about what it truly means to love and connect in today's world. Get ready to reshape your understanding of relationships and embrace the freedom of authentic connections—tune in and join the conversation!