Letter to the Editor | Must address youth gambling – Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette

Must address youth gambling

I work with a group called Focus Youth Gambling Prevention a prevention program of the Illinois Association for Behavioral Health.

On average, youth are exposed to gambling at age 10, which is earlier than alcohol, tobacco and other drugs. The earlier youth are exposed, the more likely they are to have a gambling problem later in life.

Adolescent prevalence rates of problem gambling are two to four times that of adults. Youth who gamble are more likely to have mental-health challenges, more likely to partake in drinking, smoking and drugs, and more likely to be involved in criminal behaviors.

Here at Focus, we are trying to prevent youth from participating in gambling activities. Focus Youth Gambling Prevention is a statewide youth-gambling prevention program that provides students with many programming opportunities to build skills in advocacy, leadership, public speaking and youth-gambling prevention education.

Our mission is to prevent underage gambling and create positive change in communities through student advocacy, youth-leadership development and gambling-prevention campaigns.

This program is for youth leaders who want a seat at the table to share their own perspectives, and to use their voices. Youth groups can be at the forefront of this rising issue and participate in prevention efforts to create healthier and safer communities statewide.

Focus Youth Gambling Prevention is a program of the Illinois Association for Behavioral Health and is funded in whole by the Illinois Department of Human Services Division of Substance Use Prevention and Recovery.

BRANDON MORAN

Springfield

More here:

Letter to the Editor | Must address youth gambling - Champaign/Urbana News-Gazette