The Cultural Coalition is pleased to announce five participants in a new regional project “Problem Gambling Awareness Through the Arts Initiative,” funded by the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS):

D Derek (Stonington)
Fredrick-Douglass Knowles II (Norwich)
Artreach, Inc.(Norwich)
Cape Verdean Santiago Society, Inc. (Norwich)
Winning Ways Inc. (partnering with OIC New London County)

From May through September, the artists and organizations will use an arts-based approach to increase awareness of problem gambling by engaging with specific cultural populations such as Black, Latino/a, Indigenous, Asian American and Pacific Islanders cultural communities, or with the LGBTQIA+ or Veteran communities. See below for an upcoming events calendar as of May 2024.

The proposed art activities include: a scavenger hunt at the Cape Verdean Festival, a theatrical program of lived experiences with problem gambling, art-making at the New London Pride Fair, and a spoken word, live music, and painting event.

The first event of the Awareness Through the Arts Initiative was held on May 2 at Flavours of Life in New London. ‘Bet on Black’ consisted of an evening of multi-media artistry incorporating musical, performance and visual art highlighting the significance of black self-love.

Attendees at these problem gambling awareness events will receive information on how to connect with resources, such as: The Responsible Play website https://responsibleplayct.org/ and The Problem Gambling Helpline that is available for FREE, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call/Text 1-888-789-7777 to be connected to a trained helpline specialist. Through this Helpline there is access to 35,000+ live interpreters in 290+ languages including American Sign Language.

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