The Council Welcomes Amanda Poggenburg

 

Hi!

I'm Amanda Poggenburg. I’ve recently been hired by the Mass. Council as Program Specialist with Prevention and Recovery.

I recently moved to Boston from Buckhannon, West Virginia, and let me just say that the differences are staggering! I worked as an AmeriCorps*VISTA with the Upshur County Family Resource Network for a year (July 2010-July 2011), and before that I was a student at West Virginia Wesleyan College. My work as a VISTA was prevention-focused and that is what led me to this position with the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling.

My previous prevention work was with alcohol and drug use disorders, as a Prevention and Wellness Coordinator. I worked with youth programming on the National Youth Leadership Initiative, which helped high school students learn leadership skills to better work on prevention programs in their own communities.

As Program Specialist at the Mass. Council, I will provide assistance for Prevention and Recovery Department projects (such as assisting in the development of the up and coming teen website http://www.teensknowyourlimits.org/ and completing the curriculum for the Leisure Time and Healthy Choices training for older adults); represent the Council at prevention and recovery-related conferences, trainings, and other programs (like the Recovery Coach Academy this past week and the upcoming Ounce of Prevention Conference); and I will also manage resources for the Council (our resource library, files, program materials, and database).

I am looking forward to working with the Council. Working within the topic of problem gambling is a new experience for me, and I know that there is so much to learn, and I’m excited for this great opportunity!

A little more about myself: I love working on computers and working with Excel and PowerPoint. I enjoy presenting workshops on Zentangles (a form of meditation that is recovery-oriented and focuses on using artistic expression), Social Networking, Financial Literacy, and how to use PowerPoint creatively. In my spare time, I crochet, make jewelry, go to the movies, cook, listen to music, and dance around the living room.

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Photo taken in Charleston, WV at a statewide youth meeting, we had a community service day where all the kids and advisors had to go out into different communities in the city and either do roadside trash pickup, work in community gardens, or clean the city parks.

The Council Welcomes Victor Ortiz

Hello, my name is Victor Ortiz; I have been a social service provider for over twenty years. I have worked in various systems of care targeting issues related to addiction and mental health disorders. 

Most recently, I was hired to serve as the Intervention and Treatment Support Director at the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling. I’m excited for the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead.

As the Intervention and Treatment Support Director, I am responsible for many projects aimed at raising clinical awareness of gambling disorders, eliminating stigma, creating access to care, and establishing a continuity of care for individuals and their families.

Offering training opportunities for Continuing Education Units (CEUs) to clinicians and other people who work in the human services field is an important part of the work that the Council does. We teach people about the latest problem gambling research and treatment options for helping people impacted by the disorder.  We are happy to announce our exciting 2011-2012 training calendar.

Some of our featured half-days trainings will be:

Sept. 23     

Incorporating Financial Literacy into Clinical Practice

Dec. 9         

PTSD and Gambling Disorders

March 16      

Recovery Oriented Systems of Care - Where Does Gambling Fit?

June 8        

Countertransference in Problem Gambling Clinical Work

We also offer two online training courses: The Gambling Brain in April and Countertransference in Problem Gambling Clinical Work in February.

These and other training opportunities can be found on our website www.masscompulsivegambling.org and registration is underway. Please feel free to contact me with questions at victor@masscompulsivegambling.org / 617-426-4554.

Photo of Victor blowing out his birthday candles. He recently celebrated his birthday.

The Council’s Side of the Story

by Marlene D. Warner, Executive Director

Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling

As the Executive Director of an organization that walks a very fine and complicated line around the issue of legalized gambling, I would like to respond to a recent editorial piece that criticized the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling, the only organization dedicated to helping people with gambling problems in this state, for commending legislators on their efforts to write legislation that takes into account the individuals and families who will be hurt by expanded gambling. The fact is, the Council never has, and never will, support the legislation to place casinos or racinos here.

Our position is that we are neither for nor against legalized gambling (we are against any illegal gambling); we simply exist to help build and provide services to prevent, intervene and treat gambling disorders within the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.  This is the same answer we’ve given for over 28-years.

During our 28-years of service, we have answered tens of thousands of calls on our 24-hour Helpline, trained thousands of clinicians, and provided hundreds of programs and conferences about problem gambling.  In addition, we have advocated to the state legislature for increased services to address the problems created by people playing our State Lottery, the state-supported racetracks, and the casinos in our neighboring states.

Many people are already suffering in this state with this devastating disorder.  These individuals are worried about casinos coming to Massachusetts.  We listen, we help, we refer.  We would not be an effective advocate if we were radical in support or opposition of expanded gambling.  We must remain neutral in order to be accessible to the people in need; however, I direct people to the work of both sides for their own personal advocacy.  The work of Kathleen Conley Norbut and Les Bernal and others in opposition to gambling is important and admirable, as is the work of the responsible gambling individuals working within the industry.  Their positions allow us to stay in the middle and provide a voice and services to those whose personal struggles with this disease often go unnoticed and unheard.

The Council will continue to be clear about our message: The Commonwealth does not currently do enough to prevent or combat gambling problems.  We hope that if the casino legislation does come to pass, that it will only strengthen current services and that strong provisions will be made to help people experiencing problems with the disorder.  

Respectfully,

Marlene Warner

Executive Director

Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling

Recovery Open House Blog

by Margot Cahoon, Communications Director

In honor of National Recovery Month, the Mass. Council on Compulsive Gambling willhost a “Recovery Open House,” on Tuesday, Sept. 6, from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. at our   office at

190 High Street, Suite 5, Boston, MA 02110

. Anyone in recovery or who is interested in recovery is welcome to attend!

National Recovery Month is a reason to celebrate. According to the Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery (MOAR), “Recovery Month celebrates people in recovery, and the work of treatment providers. Recovery Month highlights that all individuals have the fundamental and inherent value to be accepted and treated with respect, dignity and worth.”

The first hour of the Mass. Council’s Open House, from noon to 1:00 p.m., will be an open Gambler’s Anonymous Meeting. The group welcomes you to attend and learn more about how its important 12-step self-help program operates, and why it has been such an important tool in the lives of people in recovery for gambling problems.

The second hour, from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m., join Council staff members for free lunch, and visit our new Recovery Room.  The room is open to all people in recovery, every M-F, during normal business hours, and it offers a computer that people may use, meeting space and a library full of books and articles about problem gambling.  In addition, during the Open House, if you wish, you may add your voice to Council programs and plans, and /or consider scheduling time to record your very own “Wisdom Exchange” interview.  Learn more at the event!

During the last hour of the Open House, from 2:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m., you are invited to participate in an All Recovery Meeting, led by Council Prevention Director, Jim Wuelfing. Jim’s a dynamic presenter who has been in recovery for more than 25-years himself.

We hope to see you there for the whole event or any part of it that you’re available to attend!