For the past 5 years, BCNC has been at the forefront of research and development of community-based solutions to address problem gambling among the Asian community.

BCNC, Asian Task Force Against Domestic Violence (ATASK), The Vietnamese American Initiative for Development (VietAID), Cambodian Mutual Assistance Association (CMAA), and Tufts University School of Medicine collaborated on Asian CARES (Center for Addressing Research, Education and Services), a community engaged research partnership committed to addressing problem gambling among Asian ethnic communities supported by a grant from the Massachusetts Gaming Commission. Asian CARES worked together to conduct community-led, community-engaged research that can lead to improved practices, policy, and interventions to serve communities and address problem gambling that came out of a partnership with Tufts Clinical and Translational Science Institute (CTSI)

On Wednesday, October 27th, from 2:00 – 3:00 pm at First Parish in Malden, 2 Elm St, Malden, MA 02148, we will be launching the Asian CARES Research Report. Elected officials, services providers, and community members are invited to attend. Click here for more information and to RSVP.

Our deep investigation into problem gambling in the Asian community highlights the root causes and many unhealthy, pre-existing systemic conditions that lead to this espoused form of entertainment turning into an addiction that hurts families, children, elders, and the broader community. This report provides an in-depth look into the root causes of problem gambling in the Asian community: poverty, social and cultural loss due to immigration, and unhealthy stress relief.

To address problem gambling, BCNC Family Services is implementing comprehensive gambling prevention community outreach for the Asian immigrant population in Boston, Quincy, and Malden. BCNC is partnering with Chinese Culture Connection (CCC), Greater Malden Asian American Community Coalition (GMAACC) and Civic Education Alliance (CEA) in Quincy and Randolph, to deliver outreach strategies and social recreational activities. Our goal is to increase community awareness of mental health and gambling addiction. We will provide on-going outreach, peer learning opportunities, and recreational activities in Boston, Quincy and Malden, thanks to funding from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health’s Office of Problem Gambling Services.

In addition, the Herman and Frieda L. Miller Foundation has awarded BCNC a grant to support additional phases of intervention including: 1) community capacity-building, 2) delivery of programs and alternative recreation services, and 3) coalition building and advocacy. This grant allows BCNC to engage our partners, Chinese Culture Connection (CCC), Greater Malden Asian American Coalition Council (GMAACC), and Civic Education Alliance (CEA) to offer alternative recreational activities through an ecological model of service intervention and to build a broader coalition of stakeholders who can address these issues at the policy-level.