At the MPGH Training Forum in Wellington we caught up with Laura Hay, a rising star in gambling harm prevention. Laura is a health promoter with the Salvation Army Oasis Centre for Problem Gambling in Christchurch and she was recognised this year with the prestigious dapaanz Newcomer award. Tell us about this award, were you expecting to win? I knew nothing about it! I felt sick when they called my name – the girl before me who won an award said she had no idea she’d been nominated. I thought she was just pretending and then they called my name and I couldn’t believe it. I was the only South...

This week, I attended a Te Kakano Public Health Workforce training on the Core Competencies for Prevention and Minimising Gambling Harm for Public Health. Stephanie Erick, Te Kakano Manager was excited to kick off training at the Oasis National Forum. The Core Competencies were the key feature of the training however the Oasis Public Health team couldn't wait to reconnect with each other and welcome their newest member Siobhan Kemp into the Oasis Public Health family fold. The group shared what each of them had been doing in their respective regions, the highs and the lows. I could see how...

During Gamble Harm Awareness week, I attended a Problem Gambling Foundation (PGF) event held at the Auckland City Mission. The Auckland City Mission established in 1820 has a solid reputation of caring for those that have found either themselves homeless, rough sleeping, isolated elderly, dealing with addiction, living with mental health issues, and struggling to feed their family due to an unexpected crisis.

This one day event has been held annually around the country since 2010 and is a collaborative venture between the Universities of Auckland, Otago, Massey, Victoria and from this year, Auckland University of Technology, and is supported by Matua Raki. Hāpai te Hauora were pleased to attend this year to be part of the symposia joined by other senior researchers, clinicians, students and others in the addiction fields. The symposia was extremely interesting with a great range of topics showcasing addiction-related research in New Zealand, the outstanding line up included research presentations...