Friday, March 5, 2004 | 9:50 a.m.
MORGANTOWN, W.Va. -- Virginia Shelhammer has taken addicted gamblers to soup kitchens and credit counselors. She's worked with utilities to keep their power turned on. And she's watched families of every socio-economic stratum collapse in secrets and lies.
All because the gambler didn't ask for help.
"It's a new problem," said Shelhammer, a licensed counselor in Wheeling who has worked with 79 gamblers and relatives in the past two years. "Lots of people have already been impacted by drugs and alcohol, so they can get information from co-workers and friends. But with gambling, people don't have a clue where the resources are."
The West Virginia Problem Gambler Help Network aims to change that by launching a $60,000 statewide multimedia campaign next week. Funded with state lottery revenue, the Help Network will distribute posters and brochures, erect 130 billboards, and run newspaper, TV and radio ads as part of National Problem Gambling Awareness Week.
It's the most comprehensive effort so far to reach West Virginians whose gambling has gotten out of control, Executive Director Mia Moran-Cooper said.
"One of our hopes, too, is that family members will kind of get a clue," she said. "They usually don't figure out their loved one has a problem until they open up an envelope full of bad checks or get that foreclosure notice on the home. The earlier they call, the better we can help them."
The network's toll-free hot line, created in August 2000, had received more than 1,300 calls as of Feb. 25. Nearly 1,100 callers reported addiction to video poker machines in non-racetrack settings, while 555 said they gambled mainly at the tracks. Some engage in more than one form of play.
The bulk of the calls, 801, came last year, Moran-Cooper said, and 54 percent of those involved video poker bars. Of the calls since Jan. 1, about 66 percent were related to video poker.
Moran-Cooper said it's difficult to draw conclusions, even though the number of clubs has been growing as the Lottery Commission distributes 9,000 machines allowed under the 2001 Limited Video Lottery Act.
Each machine has the Help Network's number, so "it's the best-placed advertising we have," she said. "If we could put the 800 number on every bingo card in West Virginia, we'd probably see an increase in the number of bingo addicts calling, too."
But Shelhammer, of Footsteps Christian Counseling, said the neighborhood clubs are dangerous because they're too accessible.
"It's not like you have to travel to it," she said. "It's right there. You can go on your lunch hour, on your way to work."
Gamblers often deny or try to justify losses, getting deep in debt before realizing the extent of their problem.
"I had one lady who said she won $40,000 gambling. But she spent $80,000 to win it," Shelhammer said. "We all like to find that trinket in the Cracker Jack or the bowl of cereal, and we're taught it's OK to spend a lot of money and get a little something back."
To participate in the outreach campaign, some employers are erecting display tables in cafeterias while others will hand out brochures with paychecks.
The Help Network is sending posters to all middle, junior high and high schools, along with a letter about youth gambling. Twenty percent of the hot line callers said they began gambling before turning 18.
The agency is also mailing 500 brochures to primary care and free health clinics, as well as to some psychiatrists and family practice doctors.
The rationale is the same that was used several years ago to get medical professionals screening patients for domestic violence: They're in an ideal position to identify and help people.
Many Help Network callers had already seen doctors for stress-related ailments including insomnia and heart palpitations, Moran-Cooper said.
Doctors don't screen for the underlying problem because few know what to look for, she said. Next week, they'll receive guidance and referral numbers.
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