Following the success of the innovative project ‘Closing the Gap’, aimed at supporting the sustained engagement of people facing both financial struggles and mental ill-health, Bucks Mind and Citizens Advice Bucks are delighted to announce they are working together on another groundbreaking project designed to provide wrap-around support and advice for people affected by gambling harm.
This first-of-a-kind project, ‘Building Resilience from Gambling Harm,’ brings together both charities’ experience and specialist expertise in financial advice and mental health. The service is available to anyone over the age of 18, living in Bucks and experiencing gambling-related harm.
By combining their expertise and resources, this project provides wrap-around support to ensure people who are currently gambling, are in recovery, or have completed recovery programmes, can access both financial and mental health support. It is also open to people who have been affected indirectly by gambling related harm, for example their financial or emotional wellbeing has been impacted.
“Moving forward from a gambling problem, or from the impact of someone close to you gambling, can leave people facing a mix of emotional strain and very real practical barriers,” says Craig Glynn, CEO of Citizens Advice Bucks. “At Citizens Advice Bucks, we see how quickly issues like debt, rent arrears or insecure work can pile up and make progress feel out of reach.
“Working alongside Bucks Mind means we can support people as whole individuals. Together, we’re creating a space where people can resolve the immediate pressures while also strengthening the resilience and habits that help them move on from gambling harm and rebuild their lives sustainably.”
This initiative has been made possible thanks to a generous award from The Gambling Harm Treatment VCSE Grant Fund.
“Bucks Mind and Citizens Advice Bucks have always worked closely together, signposting clients between the two charities,” says Stephen Robinson, Deputy CEO and Director of Services for Bucks Mind. “We are delighted that we can further strengthen our working relationship through the launch of this first-of-a-kind partnership project.
“This funding will enable us to embed a Supported Self-Help Practitioner within the Citizens Advice offices in Buckinghamshire, to deliver our trauma-informed emotional and behavioural support programme, ‘Money and Me’. The programme helps build sustainable financial habits, strengthens emotional resilience and restores a sense of control, all of which reduce relapse risk and support long-term recovery.”
For more information about Building Resilience from Gambling Harm and how to access the service, please click on the buttons below.