Salvation Army Gambling Support

 
The Salvation Army Oasis takes a public health approach to gambling harm. We focus on early intervention and prevention through education, awareness-raising, community partnerships, and by promoting policies that enable people to be healthy and well.
  1. Though The Salvation Army is committed to meeting need wherever it exists, COVID-19 will greatly increase the number of service requests received for months – if not years – to come. As a result, ongoing public support will be critical in ensuring no one is turned away or overlooked.
  2. The Salvation Army has campaigned on the issue of gambling for more than 10 years. We hold regular meetings with government ministers on this issue and sit on the Gambling Commission's community liaison group.
  3. Last year, The Salvation Army's 3,600 officerss, 64,000 employees and 3.3 million volunteers served nearly 30 million Americans in need. That's about one person every second. The Salvation Army offers healing to all who cross our threshold through programs and services for: Freedom from alcohol, drug and gambling addictions.
  4. The Salvation Army opposes the stigmatisation of those suffering from a gambling dependency. It seeks to support gamblers and their families through the provision of education, counselling and rehabilitation programmes. In so doing, The Salvation Army uses a holistic approach that fosters psychological, social and spiritual well-being.

The Salvation Army's gambling addiction support service is worried about the increased number of online gambling sites. The head of the organisation's gambling services division, Oasis, said it.

Joseph from The Salvation Army Oasis and Aaron from The Salvation Army Bridge look after the stall at the He Hikoi Mātūtū Recovery Walk

Our prevention initiatives include:

  • Raising awareness of the signs and significance of gambling harm in the community, and among health and welfare professionals;
  • Promoting early gambling screening and referral processes in health and welfare agencies and gambling venues;
  • Supporting community-led projects; and
  • Providing evidence-based policy adviceto local and national government and related organisations.

If you’d like to get involved or learn more about our health promotion work, please contact us.

For almost three decades, The Salvation Army Oasis has helped to reduce the harm from gambling in the community in New Zealand

The Salvation Army is an International Christian and social services organisation that has worked in New Zealand for over one hundred and thirty years with a mission of 'Caring for People, Transforming Lives and Reforming Society'.

The Army provides a wide range of practical health, social, community and faith-based services, particularly for those who are suffering, facing injustice or those who have been forgotten and marginalised by mainstream society.

The Salvation Army Oasis centres were formally established in June 1997 in Auckland in response to growing evidence that the proliferation of gambling opportunities was having a negative impact on society. The name Oasis was inspired by a flourishing phoenix palm tree at the original Auckland Oasis premise, which became a powerful symbol of hope, sanctuary, resilience and personal growth for everyone involved in the service.

Prior to this, in 1992, the first service to reduce the harm from gambling was established in Wellington and following the opening of Christchurch Casino, an additional service began in that city in 1995. Since then, the number of clients seeking help for gambling related harm has increased dramatically.

Consequently, the Army’s reducing gambling harm services, Oasis, have offices in Auckland, Hamilton, Tauranga, Wairarapa, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin, with additional satellite clinics in a range of regions. In addition to our centres, we also provide outreach services via phone, text and video calls.

We are funded by the Ministry of Health to provide preventing and minimising gambling harm clinical and public health services.

The Oasis Team

Salvation army gambling support live chat

Salvation Army Gambling Support Live Chat

The Salvation Army Oasis have a team of clinically qualified and registered professionals from a diverse range of disciplines, who are flexible in their approaches to suit people and their life situations. Our practices utilise cultural models. See a sample of how we work.

Our team support and encourage wellbeing and reduce petipeti whakararu (gambling harm) through education, self reflection and the use of creative and research based therapies. Read more about our services and types of therapies.

Salvation Army Problem Gambling

The team also includes public health workers who provide accurate information to raise awareness on reducing gambling harm to community groups, professional groups and services and Government.

The wrap-around support offered by The Salvation Army Oasis includes support from those who have lived experience of overcoming adversity and gambling harm in their lives. This team are passionate about improving the services that Oasis have to offer. The consumer advisory team operate at the level of systemic change to reduce the harm of gambling in people's lives. You can contact your local consumer advisor through the Oasis centre.

Find out more about how Oasis works in our frequently asked questions (FAQs).

Support

Mission: Caring for people, transforming lives and reforming society.

We support a public health approach. In other words, we work across the whole population - with communities, health and social service professionals, families and whānau as well as individuals - to promote wellbeing, social justice and reduce inequities, particularly for vulnerable groups of people.

Salvation army gambling support training

Supportive: We start from where you need to start.

Caring: We walk alongside people and support them to improve their overall wellbeing and live free from gambling harm.

Non-judgemental: We provide our services in a non-judgemental manner, and deliver our support with empathy and compassion.

Salvation Army Gambling Support Centers

Respectful: We treat all of our clients with complete respect.

Inclusive: We help individuals, families and whānau irrespective of their religion, gender, sexual preference or ethnicity.

Person-centred: We support people to identify their own needs through a screening and assessment process and together create a plan to improve wellbeing and reduce gambling harm, uniquely tailored for each person who comes through our doors.

Salvation Army Gambling Support Groups

Holistic: We understand the importance of holistic health. We are guided by the perspectives of tinana (physical health) whānau (family health and wellbeing) wairua (spiritual wellbeing) and hinengaro (mental health).