A Cleveland program to educate Hispanic youths about the dangers of excessive gambling is among those nationally to receive special grants newly announced by the National Council on Problem Gambling.
Cleveland’s Hispanic Urban Minority Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Outreach Program, or UMADAOP, has been awarded $40,000 to expand its outreach through a focus on prevention of problem gambling. The program’s application to the NCPG stated its intent to educate 100 Hispanic students in middle school and high school about gambling disorders, with the idea that they would raise broader awareness:
“The program aims to raise awareness to the dangers of at risk and problem-gambling behaviors with Middle and High School youth, these youth can then relate this to their peers and their families via 1-1 conversations, social media, print, posters, and other created media.”
The bilingual program will make use of both the Risky Business EBP Program, an award-winning model to educate youth developed at Wright State University, and the Change the Game Ohio program developed by the Ohio for Responsible Gambling collaborative to focus on minors.
The application noted that Hispanic youths are at higher risk for developing gambling problems than their Caucasian peers. Prior surveying in Ohio has reported that 15% of Hispanic males ages 18-24 are at risk for the disorder.
The NCPG awards what it calls Agility Grants twice annually, with a total of $193,000 in funding announced Thursday for five different groups.
“The goal of these grants is to fill in gaps for areas that currently have no such services, as well as bolster promising efforts in existing programs,” the council’s announcement stated.
Other recipients of the latest round of funding — which is supported by contributions to the NCPG from the NFL Foundation and FanDuel — are the Maryland chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the Nevada Council on Problem Gambling, Nicasa Behavioral Health Services, and Student Assistance Services of Tarrytown, New York.
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