Real Stories (Kiwi Lives 2)
Using three real stories the Kiwi Lives 2 (Real Stories) campaign highlights the devastating impact of gambling on an individual (Lynette) and on a family (Thomas and Denise), and gives an example of what one community has achieved (The Otara Action group).
The Kiwi Lives 2 campaign uses the catch phrase “Together we can make it right” and the real life stories to:
- reinforce the themes of Kiwi Lives 1 - that problem gambling is not just an individual problem, but one that affects us all
- show how and why it is a problem
- suggest that individuals, families and communities can do something about it
- prompt use of the number and website for help and/or information.
You can view the post-campaign survey here.
An individual's story: Lynette
"I come from a middle class background - I was brought up in a nice suburb and went to a private school. I had a good job, owned my own home and had a great group of friends.
I started going along to the casino with my partner. At the beginning I found it really boring and put money in the pokie machines just to pass the time but within a year we were going constantly, spending all our money - I even started borrowing against my house. In the end we were only leaving the house to go and gamble. Sometimes it was like a black out at weekends - I would come to on a Monday with my bank accounts empty and no food in the house.
Life became about uncontrollable gambling and the stress of trying to make up for the money we'd lost.
I eventually sold my place and we moved to Australia, my partner's country. We thought we could get our lives together there but even though we worked really hard we ended up spending all our money on gambling.
Playing pokies took over my life completely and once I started I couldn't stop. I would play for days at a time, only forcing myself to leave when there was no way to get any more money. It got so bad that I miscarried in the casino and was back the very next day to keep on gambling.
Eventually I left my partner and came back to New Zealand totally broke. I tried to keep away from the pokies, but whenever I had spare time and a bit of money I was back playing them. I was so obsessed with gambling that that was all I really cared about. Even my son missed out on the attention he deserved - I never played with him or read books to him.
The turning point for me was one benefit day when I blew my whole benefit. I got home and it dawned on me that I had no food in the house and nothing left to pay the rent - I could not believe what I had done. Only then did I manage to wake up from my eight year stupor. The next night I rang for some help.
It took a long time to get gambling out of my system but with a number of inner battles and a lot of hard work I managed to get out of the addiction.
I now live in a state house. I no longer own my own home or live the lifestyle I enjoyed before I got caught up in the pokies.
I hate pokies with a vengeance for what they have done to my life".
A family story: Thomas and Denise
Thomas
"I have gambled all my life and, with time, my addiction took control.
To maintain my addiction I lied to and stole from my family and employer. I took money from wherever I could get it - I even broke into my kids' piggy banks in a desperate attempt to get money. I couldn't concentrate on work, all I could think about was gambling. My marriage broke down - I separated from my wife and my children despised me. We had to sell our house and any equity we had in the house went to pay debts. I have tried to end it all twice.
Finally I realised that I needed help. Only because of counselling, help from Gamblers Anonymous and the Problem Gambling Foundation, and my faith, I was able to turn my life around and my marriage was restored.
It is a daily battle but I have been gamble free for four years".
Denise
"Thomas was a gambler when I met him but I never realised how bad it could get. When we had our first child money was a bit tight - Thomas thought gambling was a way to get more money coming in to the home.
Eventually he started manipulating bank accounts so he could get to money. He even used to take money that had been sent to us and the children for birthdays or Christmas. It used to be a race to the postie as we knew that if Thomas got the money we would never see it again.
There wasn't one specific moment when I realised Thomas had a real problem - it crept up on me. Promises were made and not kept, and arguments were caused so he could justify storming out and going gambling.
I knew in the bottom of my heart that something was really wrong but I didn't quite know what to do about it. We even went to marriage counselling to try and help the relationship but because Thomas' gambling was never talked about nothing really changed.
Gambling controlled and ruled our lives. At one stage we were working for the same employer and he was stealing money from them and expecting me to pay it back. I had to be strong enough to refuse. In the end I asked Thomas to leave - which he did for two years until he finally sought help and managed to give up gambling.
We are back together now and even though we lost everything when Thomas was gambling, where we are now (with Thomas not gambling) is better than where we were then".
A community story: Otara Action Group
Making a plan for action
In the Manukau City Council reviewed their Gambling Venue Policy and held a community consultation process. We decided to get to work and lobby the council for a more restrictive policy. We spent 18 months planning and coming up with strategies to get a “sinking-lid policy” introduced, which would mean no new pokie machines could be put in our community.
Getting key people behind us
We talked to ministers, managers, Kaumatua, people from WINZ and budgeting services, and other community leaders we found that just about everyone thought that gambling did too much harm and wanted a sinking lid policy.
Raising awareness
A key activity we organised was the Rise Up concert in Otara. This raised awareness about gambling issues and brought together a whole lot of other social services. We also got the Mayor to come down and make a speech and got the media along. It was a really positive family day with free food and music, and there was also a good message behind it.
Getting our community’s voice heard
Lots of people didn’t want pokies, but they didn’t know how to get their voice heard.
Making it easy for people to be involved
We knew it was hard for the community to write submissions. We had to make it easy for people to understand the process and write their submission. We came up with a postcard that explained the gambling venue policy and what a ‘sinking lid’ policy would mean. All people had to do was fill out the form at on the card if they supported a change in policy, and we posted them to the council for them. We made ourselves and our cause known in the community. We went to churches, flea markets and anywhere else that would make our presence known in the community. We knew that once the council released their draft policy we only had had four weeks to make our submissions, but we had already established lots of support form our community. We got more than 7,000 submissions and we presented the submissions to the council and the media came to show us doing it!
Facing opposition
We did get some opposition, particularly from the gambling industry who own the machines. They tried to discredit our submission, saying that we were exploiting or scaring people. They even sent letters to a number of community groups, such as budgeting and health services, who were supporting us. So be prepared for resistance!
The power of community voice
Communities can have such a powerful impact on policies. When we were successful, we were surprised – not that we had ‘won’, but by the support we got. The support wasn’t just from Otara - we had submissions from all over Manukau, and even got some from Christchurch and Dunedin.
We learned that we needed to work along side the community
We couldn’t just tell them what we wanted them to do. We involved them at every stage, so they felt like it was their own campaign. It wasn’t just something that individuals did, or that OGAG did – it was something our community did together.
Advice from the Otara Action Group about community action
Be prepared to work in the community for a long time. Some fly-by-night projects just don’t work. It took us a couple of years of work and it was something that really began building from (when the first review of gambling policy was undertaken). We did a lot of work in the community and believe we succeeded because the community felt part of the process and that the people running it were trustworthy. Getting the key community leaders on bard was essential.
Be clear about what you want to accomplish
Have a plan. Clear objectives and goals should be set before starting anything. If you’re not sure what you’re doing, then the community won’t be sure what you want them to do.
Help Getting started
To get help and support to do something in your community, contact the Problem Gambling foundation. They can provide information and advice for individuals and community groups who want to take action.