Information and awareness actions on the risks associated with the practice of gambling. The initiatives in the municipalities of Social Zone 1 aimed at the prevention and treatment of the disorder are in full swing in accordance with the general purpose of the Regional Plan and the related multi-year programming and the construction and consolidation of a coordinated and integrated regional intervention system.
On the initiative of the Municipality of Città di Castello (PG), in collaboration with the Unitre association, it will take place Thursday 1 February at 16 a meeting with citizens at the Unitre headquarters in via Martiri della Libertà, 20. A meeting that intends to provide information from the services operating in the area regarding this topic with information and awareness-raising actions on the risks connected to the practice of gambling and to combat the addiction disorders related to it, aimed at raising awareness of particularly vulnerable groups such as the over 65 population. The plan intends to enhance the centrality of the Municipalities in promoting, on the basis of a strong integration between social and healthcare, information and awareness activities, interventions to support pathological gamblers and their families together with social and cultural promotion actions for the construction of an alternative culture to "gambling".
Specific interventions on the topic will be covered, with the participation of specialist personnel from the ASL Umbria 1 and the Municipalities of the Social Zone 1. "For an effective expansion and rooting of these actions - it is specified - in the context of the local communities, a fundamental element is constituted by the development of permanent alliances with the private social sector, the third sector, and associations of different types".
The councilor for social policies will be present at the public meeting, Benedetta Calagreti, the team of the gambling disorder treatment service of the Altotevere district with the person in charge, Luciano Bondi, the social worker, Cristina Mariucci, the psychologist Lucia Cecci, the nurse counselor, Monia Tanci, the Manager of the Social Zone 1 implementation plan, Maria Cristina Donati Sarti, the contact person for the ZS1 implementation plan, Cristina Grilli, the SAL ZS1 manager, Leda Pierangeli e Flavio Well done, president of UNITRE headquarters in Città di Castello.
Synergy is the key word in the fight against gambling addiction in the Upper Tiber Valley, where the municipalities of Social Zone 1, with Città di Castello as the leader, team up with the Region, Umbria 1 Local Health Authority and private social sector to combat the spread of gambling phenomenon in the district, which records an impact higher than the regional average, with a estimate of approximately 1.600 people with economic, family and psychological problems linked to this specific pathology.
The synergistic response that public institutions will implement, with the Social Services and the Service for the Treatment of Gambling Disorder (DGA) of the Alto Tevere District of the Umbria Local Health Authority 1 at the forefront in the implementation of a new model operational, passes through the new regional reference center for the treatment of gambling addiction opened in via del Campo, in the heart of Città di Castello, and a campaign to raise awareness and prevent pathological gambling structured around six meetings in the area with the Unitre Tifernate and with Arcat Umbria, aimed at the population over the age of 65. The contribution of Arcat and Unitre, with a unique experience at a regional level, will be aimed at combating gambling addiction in a segment of the population at risk, but also at establishing an intergenerational bridge towards young people, with grandparents in the role of "influencers ”, ready to dispense essential advice to young people.
The findings from the first year of activity of the regional reference center for the treatment of gambling addiction also indicate the need for an intervention aimed at all age groups of the population, which recorded an average of approximately one access per week, for a total of 45 users, mainly between 45 and 60 years old, with a prevalence of males (in a 3 to 1 ratio with women) and 7 cases with more than 65 years of age.
“A job – explained the councilor for Social Policies, Benedetta Calagreti – well coordinated with Local Health Authority Umbria1, which manages the Service for the treatment of Gambling Disorder based in Città di Castello, and with the third sector, which through the Unitre Tifernate and Arcat Umbria will be the protagonist of six events aimed at over 65, absolutely one of the most fragile and most affected groups by the gambling phenomenon, which will be aimed at raising awareness and preventing the phenomenon in this segment of the population".
“Here in Altotevere – specified the president of the APS University of the Third Age-Unitre of Città di Castello, Flavio Well done – projects like these can be done because there is an effective synergy between the eight municipalities of the Social Zone, the Umbria 1 Local Health Authority and the voluntary associations, an added value that leads us to offer services capable of responding to citizens' needs . The public initiative on Thursday 1 February responds to these needs."
