RSPH Member Spotlight: Graham England
Graham has worked for Ara Recovery4all for 15 years, and has been Chief Executive for the past five years. He has 30 years of experience working in the health and social care sector.
Ara is the lead provider for homelessness pathway 4 in Bristol, and manages 152 units of supported accommodation for people with substance misuse issues. Ara also provides support to over 1,000 people per year suffering from gambling harms, as a long term trusted partner of GamCare and part of the National Gambling Treatment Service. The charity also provides mental health services in Somerset (in partnership with Second Step), and hospital in-reach/assertive out-reach support throughout Gloucestershire.
Problem Gambling
In the problem gambling arena Graham has been a key contributor, developing the first treatment services in the South West and South Wales. He initiated the first young people’s problem gambling service in Great Britain. Graham is an active member of GambleAware’s National Clinicians Network Forum and the Gambling Harms Alliance, speaking at the first conference in Britain on gambling and the workplace. Ara is currently working with the Trade Unions to deliver education and awareness sessions to construction workers at the new Hinckley Point nuclear power station site. Graham has also been a Member of the Royal College of General Practice Gambling Education Steering Group. Over the past year he has been a key driver in developing the model for National Problem Gambling Treatment Service with GamCare, and a driver of the GambleAware General Screening Tool.
Graham was the founder (until April 2021, when it merged with Ara) and Head of Service for ‘All Out’, Cornwall’s first problem gambling treatment service, with a network of trained practitioners to deliver services in one of the most rural counties in Britain. All Out has established itself as a key resource in Cornwall, and All Out has supported an ex-client to establish the first ever G.A. meeting in Cornwall
Current gambling related projects Graham and the Team at Ara have been work on:
The Safer Gambling Movement describes Ara and Beacon Counselling Trust (BCT)'s leadership in developing a suite of innovative programs to build momentum for a national public health approach to gambling harms in Great Britain by first building this capacity in England and Wales.
The movement works to prevent gambling harm in three ways:
- Primary prevention: preventing at-risk behaviour
- Secondary prevention: reducing the harms for those who are at-risk
- Tertiary prevention: offering treatment to reduce gambling harms
The goal of this community based grassroots project is to reduce harms from gambling and improve population health in Great Britain. Delivering constant and accurate Information Advice and Guidance in communities, for communities, by communities.
Bet You Can Help: Gambling-related harms are a significant public health issue in Great Britain. These harms are often under-recognised and most people who experience harms go without support. Under the leadership of Ara and Beacon Counselling Trust (BCT), the Bet You Can Help (BYCH) programme is filling the need for place-based education and training to identify and address gambling related harms. The BYCH programme is a community first aid model for safer gambling that promotes the early identification of people who are at risk of gambling related harms. Offered as a Level 2 Qualification through the Royal Society for Public Health, this programme aims to reduce harms and prevent lives being lost from gambling related harms in Great Britain.
Don't Bet Your Life On It (DBYLOI): Ara partnered with PG Solutions who have developed a Toolkit for player by players that gives a strong and consistent safer gambling message and help strategies. The DBYLOI project blends lived experience and clinical expertise to deliver practical safer gambling strategies virtually for players that can be accessed anytime and anywhere to prevent any life from being needlessly affected by gambling-related harm. It is designed to support players at any level of play by providing players with a “seat belt” to prevent harms from occurring, identify early signs of risk, and signpost those experiencing harms to get the help they need.
Other projects Graham’s teams are involved with include “Breaking The Sharam” a pilot project to reach out to South Asian communities a group who are amongst the hardest hit by gambling related harms.
“The Workplace Charter” help Employers and Trades Unions improve knowledge and responses to gambling related harms in the workplace
“Arresting Gambling Harms” upskilling polices forces and custody suite staff in Wales to identify gambling relates issues in the criminal justice environment.
More information can be found at:
Ara Recovery4all
Safer Gambling Movement
Bet You Can Help
Don’t Bet Your Life on It
Graham England
