MAHONING COUNTY Pilot program will help gambling addicts

Compulsive gambling often goes hand in hand with drug or alcohol addiction.
By BOB JACKSON
VINDICATOR COURTHOUSE REPORTER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Mahoning County has been chosen as one of four pilot sites in Ohio to offer treatment services for people with both gambling and substance abuse addictions.
Meridian Services, formerly known as Mahoning County Chemical Dependency Programs, will receive a $35,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services to launch the program here.
No one at Meridian Services was available to comment.
Grants were also awarded to counseling agencies in Athens, Hamilton and Lucas counties. ODADAS is coordinating the program with the Ohio Lottery Commission.
"We think this has been an unidentified need," said Stacey Frohnhapfel, communication chief for the department of alcohol and drug addiction services.
She said a recent survey by the Ohio Substance Abuse Monitoring Network shows that a significant percentage of people who are addicted to alcohol or drugs are also compulsive gamblers. That's why the agency hooked up with the lottery commission to start the new treatment program.
Program details
The Mahoning County Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services will help oversee the local program, said Executive Director David L. Schaffer.
"This is something new for both our departments. It will be interesting to see how it's used," Schaffer said.
He said clients can either refer themselves into the program or be ordered in by courts or a treatment agency. It's open to people who are addicted to all forms of gambling, including the scratch-off lottery tickets.
"There are many ways to gamble in this state, as well as any other," Frohnhapfel said. "We are just looking to address that."
She said the state awarded the pilot grants based on "demographic distribution." Once the program gets off the ground, it will be expanded to other areas of the state, she said.
"We also chose treatment providers that are very strong," with a history of providing outstanding counseling services, she said.
bjackson@vindy.com