Community-led prevention

Our community-led programs aim to prevent and reduce gambling harm by funding a range of organisations to deliver innovative local projects in diverse communities across Victoria. Project aims include raising awareness of the risks of gambling, providing alternative recreational activities, helping to reduce the stigma associated with gambling harm and encouraging people experiencing gambling harm to seek support.

Since 2014

410

partnerships

99

grants awarded

up to 11 mil

Victorians reached

Prevention partnerships

The Foundation partners with community organisations and other areas of government on coordinated initiatives to prevent and reduce gambling harm. Many of these collaborations started as pilot projects.

Reclink Australia

Reclink Australia delivers inclusive sports, arts, and recreation programs to community members at risk of and experiencing gambling harm, social isolation, and poor mental health across Latrobe Valley and Central Victoria, with a focus on innovation and participation to reduce the impact of these issues.

Self-Help Addiction Resource Centre (SHARC)

Delivered by (SHARC), the Three Sides of the Coin Project uses storytelling as a method of recovery, peer support and community education. Participants – people harmed by their own or someone else’s gambling – attend workshops and develop their combined stories into theatre. Their performances are shared with community and professional audiences. This program has been delivered in partnership with the Foundation since 2014.

The Australian Vietnamese Women's Association (AWVA)

Delivered by AVWA, the Activators of Change Project is designed to reduce the vulnerability to gambling harm for women from Vietnamese communities by improving their social participation, engagement, and connections.

Victorian Local Governance Association (VLGA)

Delivered by the VLGA, the Building Council and Community Capacity program builds councillor and council officer knowledge and skills in developing and implementing actions to reduce gambling harm. The program also assists local communities to participate in application processes at the Victorian Gambling and Casino Control Commission regarding electronic gaming machine (pokies) placement. This program has been delivered in partnership with the Foundation since 2017.

Community Engagement Program

Aims

Delivered by Gambler’s Help agencies across Victoria (see below), the Community Engagement Program aims to:

improve community knowledge of the harms and risks associated with gambling
promote help-seeking and increase awareness of Gambler’s Help services
build strategic local partnerships to foster collaborations with the public health sector.

Activities

Community engagement activities tailored to local communities include:

attending local public events to give talks and hold information stalls
delivering education sessions to professionals and community groups
providing alternative recreation activities to the community
engaging workplaces to establish referral pathways to Gambler's Help counselling services.

Tools and resources for the Gambler’s Help agencies

Planning and reporting

Further resources – including PowerPoint slide decks, videos and toolkits – to support planning and delivery of activities can be found in the Resources Library on the Professional's Extranet.

Program evaluation

Gambler’s Help services are supported by external evaluators, First Person Consulting to evaluate the Community Engagement Program. The Community Engagement Program Evaluation Guide provides a detailed overview on the program's evaluation, relevant processes and resources.

Gambler's Help agencies

For more information about community engagement projects, please email: gamblershelp@health.vic.gov.au.

Evaluation reports

The Foundation has engaged an external provider to independently evaluate the processes, outcomes and impacts of each project between 2019 – 2024. The evaluation will also examine the broader learning that emerges from the integrated investment in a variety of community-led prevention projects.

Learn more about our prior initiatives by reading the evaluation summary reports:

Prevention project news

Gambling Harm Awareness Week 2023: community events wrap-up — 20 Nov 2023
Commonwealth inquiry into online gambling reflects Victorian expertise — 3 Jul 2023
Supporting Vietnamese women affected by gambling — 5 Nov 2021
Latrobe Valley receives targeted gambling harm support — 24 Aug 2021
OAM honour to Three sides of the coin director — 5 Feb 2020