Is gambling a problem with you?

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A bright, vivacious First Nations woman sits in one of the offices at Poundmakers Treatment Centre. At first her infectious smile and easy-going manner don't give away the anguish that she's been through. That realization and impact begins to hit home as she tells her story.

Pauline came to Poundmakers from British Columbia and it took her nine years of marital problems, losing most of her household possessions, losing her job and finally serious theft charges, to realize she needed help with her addiction. Pauline was a bingo addict.

"It became like I was a big-shot. Every night I was there buying cards," said Pauline, adding that she spent more than $1,000 a month at bingo.

It didn't start out like that though. In 1989, she had her first big win - a $3,500 jackpot. She thought she could win big again and started going more and more, but the big win never came again.

Pauline was working for her band making $700 every two weeks. Between living expenses and household bills, it wasn't enough to support her habit. She began pawning personal items and then began pawning her husband's work equipment. She lost all of it to the pawn shop when she couldn't afford to pay the money back.

"My husband said I had a gambling problem and I needed help," said Pauline, adding that she ignored her partner's requests to seek help. He later moved away as she continued to finance her habit.

When she ran out of stuff to sell from home, she began to forge purchase orders from work. Business machinery, including laptop computers, fax machines, and tape recorders were all taken to the pawn shop and lost.

Her band asked her to resign and filed charges of theft against her. She was required to sign a promissory note with the RCMP ordering her to stay away from bingo establishments.

"I realized I needed to do something about this. I needed to do this for myself," said Pauline.

She started seeing a counsellor who helped her look for a program to help with gambling addictions. Someone mentioned the Poundmakers gambling addiction program.

British Columbi Medical Services and Social Assistance refused to fund Pauline's treatment because gambling is not classified as an addiction or as a disease like alcoholism. Her band funded her treatment out of their own addictions program. Now she feels she is on the right road to recovery.

"I really want to get my addiction resolved. I thank the Creator for getting me here," said Pauline.

Treatment programs for gambling addictions are relatively new. In Alberta., Poundmakers has been operating its gambling addiction program for the last year. It is the first Native, culturally-based program of its kind in Alberta. The program is 14 days long and incorporates Gamblers Anonymous meetings into its structure.

"When people come into the program, its like this is the last house on the block," said Harold Tookenay, managing counsellor of the gambling program.

Tookenay said that although their main clients are video lottery addicts, bingo also has its fair share of victims.

The gambling program is based on Poundmaker's belief that gambling addiction is a disease and that it has reached critical proportions in the Native community.

"Examine your actions, what you're doing to yourself, your community, your people. The gambler knows who they are. Everyone knows who they are," said Tookenay. He says that the denial in Native country is pretty high and that at the heart of any addiction is pain.

It is through research that Poundmakers has developed and operated a gambling addiction program to help people find solutions.