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More than 200 Southeast Asians are scheduled to rally at Luther Burbank High School Saturday morning to end problem gambling in their communities.
Hmong and Mien community leaders will lead the 10 a.m. public forum in the cafeteria at 3500 Florin Road. They plan to ask County Supervisor Jimmie Yee and state gambling control officials to develop an "Asian Hub" to address a problem that has ruined the lives of addicted Asian Americans.
The hub would serve as a social and wellness center for Southeast Asians, many of them elderly who take casino buses several times a week. Ten passengers have died as a result of the October 2008 crash of a "gamblers special" with 43 Southeast Asians headed for the Colusa casino.
That tragedy and the suicide of a prominent Mien community leader who'd lost everything - documented in the Bee this March - "have raised awareness more broadly of the need for more problem gambling support and mental health services accessible to Southeast Asians in their native languages," said Neng Vang of Sacramento Area Congregations Together, which is sponsoring the forum.
Community leaders will also ask representatives from the California Office of Problem Gambling to make their outreach and hotline services available in Hmong, Mien and Lao. Following The Bee reports, the state OPG said it plans to train gambling addiction counselors in those languages.
"When we met with state gambling officials they thought Hmong and Mien were the same - that was a shocker for us," said Vang, who lost his mother, Malor Vang, 60, in the Colusa crash.
Thomas Vang, of the Hmong and Mien Leadership Network that is co-sponsoring the forum, lost his father and mother as a result of the bus crash.
Doua Yang, who's scheduled to testify Saturday, said both his parents were injured in the crash and both continue to go gambling. "I don't know how to get my parents to stop," he said.
Also scheduled to testify is Mien community leader Weun Seng Fong, who's very concerned because gambling seems to be out of control in many Mien families.
Hmong and Mien translators will be available for families with limited English.
"We believe chronic gambling is an issue in the Asian community in Sacramento," Vang said. "Whether you are Vietnamese or Hmong, gambling is like a disease that has destroyed many lives and families. We find the social impact of gambling in our communities to be unacceptable."
Community leaders ar proposing:
- Casinos add a disclaimer on their advertisements on television, radio, publications, and billboards. For example, it might say in Hmong, Mien, Vietnamese and other Asian languages: "If you have a problem with gambling please our help hotline number."
"Red Hawk does it since the accident," Vang said. "They do a superb job.".
- The help hotline have Asian language counselors in Hmong, Iu Mien, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Filipino dialects and other Asian languages.
- Buses would keep track of their customers and not pressure them into gambling more they can afford, Vang said. For example, Asian elderly congregate after they exhausted free-play money offered as an incentive to ride the bus. "They are asked to play or have their individual tag number written down and asked not to come back," Vang said.
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Hmong and Mien community leaders will lead the 10 a.m. public forum in the cafeteria at 3500 Florin Road. They plan to ask County Supervisor Jimmie Yee and state gambling control officials to develop an "Asian Hub" to address a problem that has ruined the lives of addicted Asian Americans.
The hub would serve as a social and wellness center for Southeast Asians, many of them elderly who take casino buses several times a week. Ten passengers have died as a result of the October 2008 crash of a "gamblers special" with 43 Southeast Asians headed for the Colusa casino.
That tragedy and the suicide of a prominent Mien community leader who'd lost everything - documented in the Bee this March - "have raised awareness more broadly of the need for more problem gambling support and mental health services accessible to Southeast Asians in their native languages," said Neng Vang of Sacramento Area Congregations Together, which is sponsoring the forum.
Community leaders will also ask representatives from the California Office of Problem Gambling to make their outreach and hotline services available in Hmong, Mien and Lao. Following The Bee reports, the state OPG said it plans to train gambling addiction counselors in those languages.
"When we met with state gambling officials they thought Hmong and Mien were the same - that was a shocker for us," said Vang, who lost his mother, Malor Vang, 60, in the Colusa crash.
Thomas Vang, of the Hmong and Mien Leadership Network that is co-sponsoring the forum, lost his father and mother as a result of the bus crash.
Doua Yang, who's scheduled to testify Saturday, said both his parents were injured in the crash and both continue to go gambling. "I don't know how to get my parents to stop," he said.
Also scheduled to testify is Mien community leader Weun Seng Fong, who's very concerned because gambling seems to be out of control in many Mien families.
Hmong and Mien translators will be available for families with limited English.
"We believe chronic gambling is an issue in the Asian community in Sacramento," Vang said. "Whether you are Vietnamese or Hmong, gambling is like a disease that has destroyed many lives and families. We find the social impact of gambling in our communities to be unacceptable."
Community leaders ar proposing:
- Casinos add a disclaimer on their advertisements on television, radio, publications, and billboards. For example, it might say in Hmong, Mien, Vietnamese and other Asian languages: "If you have a problem with gambling please our help hotline number."
"Red Hawk does it since the accident," Vang said. "They do a superb job.".
- The help hotline have Asian language counselors in Hmong, Iu Mien, Vietnamese, Cantonese, Filipino dialects and other Asian languages.
- Buses would keep track of their customers and not pressure them into gambling more they can afford, Vang said. For example, Asian elderly congregate after they exhausted free-play money offered as an incentive to ride the bus. "They are asked to play or have their individual tag number written down and asked not to come back," Vang said.
More...