Australia has the greatest gambling losses per capita in the world; 20% of pokie machines in the world; 75% of which are in suburban pubs and clubs -this ease of access is major predictor of harm. Pokies are particularly predatory for vulnerable women.
Three Sides of the Coin project enables people with lived experience of gambling harm to become advocates for change. Their personal stories are shared through both online and live performances, which educate the community and train professionals about gambling harm and the intersections of gambling with other health issues eg mental health, family violence, drugs, alcohol, crime. The purpose is to disrupt the normalisation of gambling, reduce stigma, humanize the people behind the addiction, increase help-seeking, and frame gambling as a public health issue.
Three Sides of the Coin project is looking for $14K to add one 6min lived experience Recovery Gamble video story to our bank of 7 stories. See trailer here: https://threesidesofthecoin.org.au/video-stories/
A women, Carolyn, who has workshopped with our artistic director to theatrically tell her story, is ready to enter the filming process. She was sent to jail for embezzling money to feed her gambling addiction. This real-life video story of gambling harm to recovery (includes animation and music), will be shared in a non-linear, interactive way with broad audiences, both community and professional, as an educational tool, with the protagonist present for QandA.