We understand that this time of year can be uniquely challenging when it comes to gambling harms and recovery. Therefore, we wanted to make sure you know exactly where you can access support during the festive period.
If you need support our National Gambling Helpline is always available. We are here for you 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Our helpline advisors are there to give confidential information, advice and support, free of charge, for anyone affected by gambling harms in England, Scotland and Wales. You can call us on 0808 8020 133, We will listen to what is going on for you and talk through options for support in your local area, online or over the phone.
If you would rather message our team, we have Live chat and Whatsapp options too, so you can chat to our advisors wherever you are over the festive season, in a way that is confidential and works for you.
To help keep you on track, you can always sign up to our SMS system too for additional support. You will receive regular text messages at a time of your choice, which are designed to keep you motivated in your recovery from gambling related harms. We have a number of Online Services available for you to access too in addition to our SMS support https://www.gamcare.org.uk/get-support/online-support-services/ that can provide accessible support for you during the holiday season.
In our Online Community Spaces, We have a variety of festive themed chatrooms running, alongside our regular chatroom schedule https://community.gamcare.org.uk/chatrooms/. We know the impact the festive period can have on money worries, relationships, family & friends and more, so our chatrooms are there as a dedicated space to seek support from others during this time.
As well as this, our Forum will continue as usual, where hopefully you can find pockets of help, advice, shared experience and support from others. It is also a place where you can take the opportunity to reach out and share what’s going on for you right now. We encourage you to support others in our forum during this time too, by posting a message of encouragement and support to those who are struggling. Whether that be by sharing some reflections on someone else post, or starting your own recovery diary to keep track of your own journey, including all the small and big steps along the way can be helpful during the festive season. Our Online Peer Support Team and volunteers will also be sharing a series of ‘12 Days of Christmas’ forum post’s during the festive period, where we will be sharing regular post’s every day leading up to Christmas.
As we approach the festive period, please be aware that some of our support services may have limited capacity during this time. However, we encourage you to still reach out for support, as our helpline advisors are always here to support you and provide more information about which services are operating during the festive period. In addition to the immediate support, we’ve already mentioned, we offer a range of other local services that can be accessed through our helpline or directly via our website https://www.gamcare.org.uk/get-support/find-local-support/.
We hope you find these 12 Days of Christmas posts helpful and remember that we are here to support you during this time.
Warm Regards,
Online Peer Support Team
We are available 24 hours a day, every day of the year. You can also contact us for free on 0808 80 20 133. If you would like to find out more about the service before you start, including information on confidentiality, please click below. Call recordings and chat transcripts are saved for 28 days for quality assurance.
