New gambling help network director talks about prevention, recovery
By Lydia Nuzum
Staff writer
One of the first calls the 1-800-GAMBLER Program ever received was from a grandmother whose Bingo habit had landed her in prison - but not before she had embezzled nearly $250,000 from her employer.
One of the more striking calls Jennifer Davis-Walton ever received was from a woman who said her sister had stopped paying her share of the bills, opting instead to schedule her weeks around Longaberger Basket Bingo charity events, driving from town to town with her coworkers and gambling away her paycheck on good cause after good cause.
Many of the people who call West Virginia's gambling hotline spend most of their time in front of a poker machine in the mom-and-pop shop near their house. Some are relatives seeking advice to reach their addicted spouse, sibling or child; others are on the verge of financial ruin, or even suicide.
Davis-Walton, the new executive director of The Problem Gamblers Help Network of West Virginia, said the people who find themselves addicted to gambling come from all walks of life, and have discovered a number of different outlets for their addiction. The network, in turn, has tried to be responsive to the estimated 2 to 3 percent of West Virginians who have a problem with gambling.
"I think it's difficult sometimes because people don't look at it so much as an addiction because you can't smell it and you can't see it outwardly," Davis-Walton said. "People can hide it a lot longer. Their finances might be a mess, but by their outward appearance, you can't tell it. When someone is intoxicated or under the influence of drugs, there are signs and symptoms. The challenge is getting people to understand that it is truly an addiction in the same way."
Davis-Walton has worked with the help network in some capacity since 2007, and became its director on Aug. 24. She has worked in many other behavioral health arenas in her career, from substance abuse treatment in a juvenile detention center to geriatric psychiatry in a local hospital, and can attest to the similarities in behavior between gamblers and other types of addicts.
"Often if you talk to spouses or significant others, many will say 'I thought they were having an affair,'" she said. "They lie. They lie about where they're going, and it's not because they're with another person; they're sitting in front of a machine. Many times the spouse doesn't have a clue, because they have nothing to do with the bills, so the person gambling can hide it for a long time. Then you start getting cutoff notices. It can interfere with their work; they can become very preoccupied. There are mood changes, as with any other addiction."
Davis-Walton said one of the first things she wants to do is raise awareness of gambling addiction by expanding the program's prevention efforts into schools. Just like drugs, alcohol or tobacco, making a habit of gambling early in life can lead to a stronger addiction as an adult, Davis-Walton said, and she hopes early intervention can prevent bigger problems down the road for West Virginia's youth.
"Not everyone is aware that it's even a problem that needs to be addressed," she said.
Counselors for the network try to guide callers throughout the entire process, offering financial advice and local treatment options, but sometimes it isn't enough - Davis-Walton said she remembers one caller telling her she "needed more." She ultimately referred the woman to an inpatient recovery center out of state.
"We have attempted - and it's probably worth more attempts - to provide training to hospital staffs," she said. "I think one of the reasons it's difficult is that they stay so busy, and if one therapist trained in it leaves, who do you have to provide that therapy? I do think it's something we should look at and give them more basic knowledge in its treatment."
The network currently has two counselor-led support groups in Charleston and Morgantown, and hopes to create more in the future. It also partners with community health centers, Prestera and other providers, who provide "lie-bet" questionnaires to patients. The questionnaires have just two questions, meant to identify problem gambling: "Do you lie about your gambling?" and "Do you bet more money than you plan to?"
For Davis-Walton, helping spread awareness and facilitate prevention are just as gratifying as aiding in recovery, and something she hopes to continue in her new role at the network.
"We get notes and messages from our callers often - I got an email just the other day from a man letting me know he had just celebrated a year clean," she said. "They're all so different, and most of their stories are touching in some way, but I guess the stories of someone who'd never had any problems before, but were forced to rebuild their entire lives because of gambling, resonate with me most."
Reach Lydia Nuzum at lydia. nuzum@wvgazette.com, 304-348-5189 or follow @lydianuzum on Twitter.