MCPG leader addresses panels
By Paul Tash
Montana Tavern Times
The Montana Council on Problem Gambling won't have enough money to operate its current programs in the near future if funding to replace a major contributor isn't found, the president of the Council reported to two Montana Tavern Association committees last month.
Mark Kennedy told the Public Relations and Budget and Finance committees during the MTA convention in Red Lodge that the Council lost a quarter of its funding when the financially strapped Gaming Industry Association discontinued its funding.
The Council now is equally funded only by the Montana Tavern Association, the Montana Coin Machine Operators Association, and Town Pump. The GIA was the fourth contributor.
Kennedy said the Council can use reserves to compensate for the GIA loss for awhile, but by the “first quarter of next year” the treatment program will be “crossing into the red.”
The Montana Council on Problem Gambling is a non-profit agency dedicated to alleviating gambling-related problems through a toll-free, confidential 24-hour help line and referral service to its outpatient treatment program. The help-line number is 1-888-900-9979.
Last year the Council sponsored 969 groups with over 3,000 participants. The program has trained therapists in 22 Montana communities and involves 34 treatment providers.
Kennedy said MCPG has administration costs of only 15 percent, allowing 85 percent of funding to be dedicated to actual treatment.
“We've figured out how to do more with less money,” he said, adding that the Council relies on a “very, very active website.” The site, which can be found at www.mtcpgambling.com, is full of information on the problem gambling and lists outpatient therapists who are specially trained to work with problem gamblers and their families.
“We're getting pretty good at what we do.”
Kennedy invited MTA members to attend the MCPG's fall conference, set for Oct. 7-8 in Great Falls. The main presenter will be Jim Wuelfing, owner of the New England Center, a company offering training and technical assistance for problem-gambling counselors. He also serves as the director of prevention for the Massachusetts Council on Compulsive Gambling.