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 bush 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 are 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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© 2009 Sacramento Bee
