October 2009 Events

Southern California Problem Gambling Regional Summit

San Diego, CA -- Consortium partners NICO, ONTRACK and NAPAFASA hosted the Southern California Regional Summit at the War Memorial Building in Balboa Park. Portions of the event included personal stories panel, breakout sessions on Problem Gambling and Vunerable Populations, Treatment, and Problem Gambling in the LGBTQI community.

May 2009 Events

PICC Festival

Harbor City, CA -- NAPAFASA staff hosted an informational table at the 20th Annual Pacific Islander Community Council Festival. The festival featured cultural food and entertainment from the Tahitian, Samoan and Hawaiian communities. Exhibits were also arranged around the perimeter of the park to showcase cultural artifacts and dioramas.

April 2009 Events

Yum Yum Restaurant

Calexico, CA -- The NAPAFASA Problem Gambling Project is dedicated to serving communities all across California state. Despite a six hour drive there and back, NAPAFASA staff visited the Yum Yum Restaurant in Calexico, CA to inform the restaurant owners and community members about PGP services.

Northern California Problem Gambling Prevention Regional Summit

Oakland, CA -- After weeks of planning, NAPAFASA and partners NICOS Chinese Health Coalition and OnTrack Program Resources opened the Northern California Problem Gambling Prevention Regional Summit to service providers in San Francisco and Oakland. Above: Office of Problem Gambling Director Terri Sue Canale gives her welcome and introduces the audience to the various facets of OPG. Right: Speaker Maggie Steele, who presented on problem gambling in the Native American community, plays music for the audience.

The event was catered by Fountain Cafe with donations from Asian Americans for Community Involvement and hosted by the California Endowment.

Club IMPACT

South San Francisco, CA -- API TA Program Manager Sarah Cha traveled to the Bay Area to observe a session of Club Impact, a youth program for Pacific Islander students created by Ursula Ann Siataga and Steve Teu. Club Impact is one of the few programs for Pacific Islander that not only retains PI youth but actually attracts new students week after week. For that reason, it will be the subject of the next NAPAFASA quarterly report on promising practices.

Southern California Problem Gambling Prevention Regional Summit

Los Angeles, CA -- Over forty service providers gathered from all across Southern California to attend the first of the three day-long problem gambling summits on Friday, April 3, 2009. The day concluded with personal stories from problem gamblers and their family members. The event was hosted by the Asian American Drug Abuse Program (AADAP). Above: Dr. Timothy Fong of the UCLA Gambling Studies Program discusses recent problem gambling research findings.

March 2009

Fresno TOT

Fresno, CA -- About twenty service providers joined NAPAFASA Problem Gambling Project staff for a 3.5-hour training on problem gambling. The audience was especially interested in the issue as it affects Southeast Asians, who compose a growing number of their clientele. Some participants thanked PGP staff afterwards for the presentation, saying that problem gambling is an issue that is often overlooked and rarely discussed. This event was hosted by the Fresno Center for New Americans.

CSULB Powwow

Long Beach, CA -- Program Associate Eugene Lee and Research Associate Francesca Ngo staffed the Problem Gambling Project (PGP) table at the Native American powwow held at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB) on March 7th. Above, Left: Francesca Ngo sets up the PGP table. Above, Right: Native American men dance in the middle of the field.

Southern California TOT

Los Angeles, CA -- Veteran trainers Suzanne Koch Eckenrode and Gerry Balcazar opened the Southern California Training of Trainers (TOT) with a couple of hours of the curriculum material. In the afternoon session, the twenty or so participants took the floor to give 10-15 minute presentations of their own. Audience members and Problem Gambling Project staff gave feedback. Above: A group of three participants gives a practice presentation on gambling in the Asian Pacific Islander population.