Against the Odds - Problem Gambling Graphic Medicine, is a new tool to help foster prevention-focused conversations with young people about problem gambling. Tips for talking & lesson plans are included. Technical assistance is available.
A graphic medicine uses the format of a graphic novel to communicate health information. Evidence shows that the visuals combined with the information can help with memory of important information, as well as understanding and comprehension. We worked with SOPO Unite in South Portland, Maine, to create this student-lead story about five friends, while struggling with the normal ups and downs of life as a teenager in small-town New England, now find themselves with a bigger problem on their claws...I mean, hands! The plastics factory on the outskirts of town had a chemical leak, and it's really killed the vibes. Now these friends have to launch an epic grass-roots community clean up, before the vibes kill them!
Throughout the story, we see one friend, Luke, struggle with his gambling habits, and another friend, Bishop, struggle with the impacts of the environmental crisis on his well-being. Still, those obvious struggles aren't the only ones. Stay until the end to catch how the students find a connection as medicine, and check out the accompanying Implementation guide to see all the ways the story can be a tool for you to talk to young people about problem gambling.
*The New England PTTC is only able to mail printed copies to those working/living in HHS Region 1 (ME, NH, VT, MA, CT, RI). If you request a copy working/living outside of HHS Region 1, we'll send you an electronic copy (PDF format) to download. Please complete the Request Form.
Through our cooperative agreement with SAMHSA and our Agility Grant through the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG), all our resources are free to the public.
Questions? Contact Sarah Harlow, Co-Director, New England PTTC: [email protected]
About this resource: This resource was developed to address a need identified in HHS Region 1 (ME, NH, VT, MA, CT, RI) to provide substance misuse prevention professionals with tools for substance misuse prevention and gambling prevention. This resource is developed through the New England Prevention Technology Transfer Center, funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA), SAMHSA Cooperative Agreement #5H79SP081020-03. This resource was made possible through a partnership with the National Council on Problem Gambling (NCPG) through the-award-of a one-year Agility Grant. For more information on the Agility Grant through NCPG, please visit: https://www.ncpgambling.org/problem-gambling/agility-grants/.
