(Jamma) If help groups for pathological gamblers are a consolidated reality, the new arrival is a residential structure to welcome them 24 hours a day, 24 days a year. A novelty that will make school in Italy.
In fact Pluto, this is the name of the structure, is the first "house" in our country open all year round to welcome those who are victims of the gambling disease. Because it is a pathology and as such it must be treated.
This is confirmed once again by Matteo Iori, president of Pope John XXIII, who recalls how from 2000 to today the Community has followed 686 players thanks to its help groups.
«Over the years - explains the president of the Community Pope John XXIII - we have verified the need to offer a place to stay, a moment of respite detached from their own life context, to those players who cannot handle the temptation. A safe space open at any time of day or night with trained operators. The realization of this dream is the result of a short trial carried out in 2011 and of a new experimental project financed in part by the Emilia Romagna Region and in part by our non-profit organization. It is important that alongside the help groups, the best solution for those who have a family, a job and more generally a social context in which to return, there is a structure in which to organize personalized recovery paths".
In fact, gambling is not a game at all: the National Research Council states that one million Italians have already developed addiction or are at risk. An alarming figure that in our province has so far resulted in 1164 requests for help, of which about half have landed in groups, for an average age of about 40 years. Plus the submerged.
"While we already have communities working on other addictions, especially alcohol and drugs, up to gambling we had our hands tied because in Italy it is not recognized by the Essential Levels of Assistance - continues Matteo Iori referring to the interests behind this mechanism. Now thanks to a specific resolution of the Regional Council we can act by guaranteeing free residential care for pathological gamblers. Gambling is a real scourge of our society and we must be equipped to fight it».
The location of the structure is not disclosed: the address remains secret to protect people who have the right to keep the addiction hidden from their social context.
Personalized therapeutic projects will be organized within the walls of "Pluto", the duration depends on the individual case. It is not a place dedicated to emergencies, access is linked to inclusion in a recovery path and the desire to regain one's freedom away from the game.
