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Gambling Information and Counseling
Services
Contact person: Linnea W. Powell, CSW-R
1411 Genesee Street, Utica, NY, USA 13501
Office: (315) 732-3920
Fax: (315) 732-5436
E-mail: linneap@htcorp.net
Program Description
Gambling Information and Counseling Services (GICS) is a Division of Human Technologies Corp., in Utica, NY. GICS, a not-for-profit service, provides counseling services for gamblers, their families and others affected by gambling. GICS also provides educational and informational presentations. It currently provides group services for inmates in one New York State correctional facility. The counselors, through Volunteer Services at the prison, hold a ten-week module with inmates who have been evaluated as having problems with gambling behaviors. We are the only service of this kind in the New York State prison system. Our program is one of eight funded by a grant through the New York State legislature and overseen by the Office of Mental Health. GICS services several counties in central New York.
Philosophy of Service
We work closely with the New York Council on Problem Gambling. Our objective is to provide help to those who are adversely affected by gambling. The New York legislature acknowledges that legalized gambling can be a problem for some and offers a grant for these services. We provide services regardless of one's inability to pay for services. We mainly offer weekly and hourly counseling sessions that address gambling behavior and imbalances in one's life that make it difficult to abstain from gambling (gambling is often a symptom of other problems). We also run group sessions as needed.
