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Our vision

Our vision
We belive that recovery is about people (re)building meaningful and valued lives, where they can realize their aspirations, be treated with respect and dignity, and contribute to society. Our vision is to provide ongoing emotional and psychological support in a peer-led community setting, with professional help from experienced recovery coaches in a warm, friendly and informal environment. We also aim to create a space for clients’ self-realisation and opportunities for growth. We would like to make continuing support accessible and approachable and create a recovery community, that will help to raise awareness and put a face and voice to recovery. Our services are free of charge.

Our support
The LRC provides support for those engaged with and leaving clinical service provision with a view to eventual formal transfer out of these services and into longer-term support through community based recovery support services. Collaborative working is at the heart of the LRC’s approach.

The LRC has existing relationships with local statutory health care provisions and clinical treatment and support services, receiving referrals through these avenues and community based referrals. To date 44 external partner agencies or organisations have referred to the Living Room, in addition to community based and self-referrals. The LRC also maintains a database of over 80 professionals who are kept informed about the services available and current news and information. The LRC also works collaboratively with a range of partners to address the diverse and changing needs of service users, signposting and supporting service users to access numerous organisations throughout Cardiff and the Vale, and involving the centre in the overall picture of recovery within Wales.

Our Philosophy
The LRC’s philosophy embraces Prochaska & DiClemente’s Integrated Model of Change and the principles of the 12-Step programme. Services are 12-Step informed but also utilise other interventions including MI, CBT, NLP, and talking therapies, amongst others, according to the individual service user’s needs. The LRC also utilises the support of Fellowships, including AA, NA, SSA to further imbed the recovery philosophy and provide additional on-going support and aftercare to those in recovery from various addictions. In 2011, the LRC and WCAOD led partners in the first ever Welsh National Recovery Walk in Cardiff to counter the stigma and discrimination that still exists in society towards people with substance misuse problems and mental health issues. Mutual aid approaches are supported through annual lectures, Tree of Hope ceremony, Volunteers Ceremony and Birthday Concerts, including more frequent events, sessions, groups and activities on a service user led basis.

The process of recovery is augmented through the use of the LRC’s peer-based recovery support services, spanning the various stages of recovery and encompassing support at an individual, family, neighbourhood, and community level, further support improved treatment outcomes. All services, groups, classes and social activities are service user led, with confidentiality and mutual respect being paramount in all service areas. Provision is not mandatory, nor restrictive with regards to timing, thereby allowing service users the freedom to attend in a manner they identify could most benefit their recovery. Those in recovery are encouraged to talk about and share their recovery with others in the recovery community. Such activities demonstrate recovery capital as ‘real’ for individual service users, rendering it maintainable and achievable for themselves and others and ensuring that recovery capital is highly valued in the eyes of others. People with low recovery capital could be described as having “burnt their bridges”. Services provided by the LRC “lend” those seeking recovery some of the peer’s own recovery capital and social credit, until such time as the recovery seeker can regenerate his/her own personal and social assets. Such assets may include (amongst many others) hope, determination, self-confidence, socialisation, clothing, food, money or shelter. Working on a holistic basis and becoming a “giver” instead of a “taker” is fundamental to the LRC’s recovery philosophy.

Past community members matter to the LRC as much as present ones. Contact with those who have or are at risk of disengaging is additionally maintained through the Telephone Recovery Support Service. This service reaches out to service users through our Living Room Recovery Radio programme on Cardiff Radio 98.7FM and by ‘keeping-in-touch’ telephone calls, the frequency of which are pre-agreed through the client agreement completed at the point of registration. The LRC’s weekend on-call crisis line also addresses the needs of those currently engaging and provides access to support outside of the LRC’s usual service delivery.

LRC also utilised its Recovery Champions in articulating ambition, championing routes to recovery, supporting individuals in treatment; keeping a recovery focus at all stages of a service users journey and challenging assumptions, such as ‘people with Addictions don’t recover’, ‘recovery is distinct from treatment’, ‘those with Addictions can only be addressed in acute care settings’ and ‘that treatment can only get better if you throw more money at it otherwise you can change very little’, etc.

LRC is represented at the Substance Misuse Network meetings; Supporting Substance Users Task Groups, the drug and alcohol users’ forums (CARDUF & ASFA) and the Children & Young People’s Substance Misuse Task Group (CYP); and our CEO represented the Recovery Community on the Substance Misuse Strategy Implementation Board. LRC, through its CEO, is a member of APoSM Recovery Group, which formulated the Recovery Framework for Wales, and which will be responsible for monitoring its roll-out nationwide.

Counselling is delivered by trained, accredited Counsellors, with Recovery Coaches being trained in delivering appropriate and accessible support to service users. Training and monthly supervision is provided to all staff and volunteers by specialist trained professionals both internal and external to the organisation.

The LRC is volunteer led and maintains a volunteering structure which encompasses the diverse needs of individuals whilst aiming for “sharing, learning and personal development”. The programme was designed involving the service users and includes a placement facility for those wishing to learn more about addiction and recovery. All service users wishing to volunteer and contribute towards service delivery within the recovery community are matched to appropriate roles following assessment of their recovery status, skills, experience, personal drive and learning objectives, in order to ensure that all service users helping to provide services within the recovery community are supported, trained and equipped to fulfil the needs and obligations of the roles they undertake.

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Who are we

WHO ARE WE

Originally from North Wales. Carol was educated at Dyffryn Ogwen Secondary School and Trinity College, Carmarthen. She has worked for most of her career in education.  For several years has engaged with people in recovery from addictions. She started working at Living Room, Cardiff in 2013 as co-ordinator of the Reaching Out project.  This project trains in educating about addictions in general, and introduces the appropriate skills necessary to help those in recovery.

In 2015 these responsibilities were linked to helping to assure the maintaining of good service standards offered at the Living Room.

Carol Hardy

Service Manager

Dee Lally Osborne

Addictions Project Worker

Dee Lally Osborne is one of our Addiction Project Workers. After 15 years in the civil service Dee decided to retrain at Action on Addiction at Bath University. She spent her placement with us and after graduating in June 2016 became a staff member in July 2016.

She lives in a village on the outskirts of Pontypridd with her husband and two step children and Kit Kat the pet cat.

She is a keen hiker and has been a member of a young person’s walking group since 2004.

Nick Shepley

Addictions Project Worker

Nick is an Addictions Project Worker at the Living Room and has volunteered at the centre for the past six years. During this period Nick has qualified as a counsellor at Leicester University. Nick also works as a teacher and a writer and has used his expertise in writing to benefit the Living Room. He has contributed to the Living Room’s Reaching Out manual and has helped to develop the centre’s communications strategy, making sure its values are understood locally and nationally. In his work as a counsellor Nick has specialised in motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioural therapy and voice dialogue therapy to help clients process difficult emotions and feelings. Nick has been in recovery from addiction for thirteen years and lives in Cardiff with his wife and son.

After a 40 years career as a writer, actor and director working in theatre and television, Wynford returned to college in 2006 to study for a Fd.Sc. degree in Addictions Counselling. After graduating in the summer of 2008, he worked briefly as an addictions counsellor in Rhoserchan, the drug and alcohol treatment centre above Penrhyncoch, near Aberystwyth. On the 1st of October, 2008 he started work as Chief Executive Officer of the Welsh Council on Alcohol and Other Drugs, and a corner-stone of his 3 year strategy was the establishment of Stafell Fyw Caerdydd/Living Room Cardiff, a community based Recovery Centre supporting people with addiction problems in Cardiff and surrounding areas. He was awarded the Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship for 2010 and visited some of the new recovery community centres in the U.S. which have achieved long-term recovery from severe alcohol and/or drug-related problems. A network of such centres is to be found in Vermont, Connecticut and Philadelphia, Washington D C and Virginia. Visiting these centres provided Wynford with very useful ideas on how to better build a strong “peer culture” into the Stafell Fyw Caerdydd/Living Room Cardiff project, which was officially opened on 8th September, 2011.

​

Having recently stood down as Centre Head & CEO, Wynford is focused on rolling-out the Beat the Odds programme throughout Wales, and setting up Living Room centres in West and North Wales. Currently, he is a Specialist Counselling Consultant to CAIS Ltd., Living Room Cardiff’s parent company, and is also responsible for delivering and overseeing Cynnal, the counselling service for clergy and ministers of religion and their families; and Enfys, the bespoke counselling service for qualified medical doctors. He’s also responsible for delivering retreats – of which there are three every year – and three modules on Addiction & Recovery Coaching, in conjunction with the University of Wales Trinity Saint David.

​

Wynford is married to Meira, has two daughters, Bethan and Rwth, and is a very proud grandfather to Begw, Efa, Bobi and Jac. He lives in Creigiau on the outskirts of Cardiff.

​

Wynford is in recovery and his sobriety date is 22nd July, 1992.

Wynford Ellis Owen

Specialist Counselling Consultant to Living Room Cardiff & CAIS Ltd. (Living Room Cardiff’s parent company), and founder and former Chief Executive Officer Living Room Cardiff.
 

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2019 Wales youth forum on gambling

FFORWM IEUENCTID CYMRU AR GAMBLO 2019

2019 WALES YOUTH FORUM ON GAMBLING

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Gamblo problemus yng nghymru Problem gambling in wales

FFORWM IEUENCTID 
CYMRU 2019 WALES
YOUTH FORUM

029 2030 2101 

GAMBLO PROBLEMUS YNG NGHYMRU
PROBLEM GAMBLING 
IN WALES

BAE CAERDYDD / CARDIFF BAY 
MEDI 27 JUNE 2019 

NODDWYD GAN / SPONSORED BY DARREN MILLAR AS/AM

MAE FFORWM IEUENCTID CYMRU AR GAMBLO 2019 YN CAEL EI GYFYNGU I BOBL IFANC A RHAI OEDOLION GWAHODDEDIG YN UNIG. 

​

ATTENDANCE AT THE 2019 WALES YOUTH FORUM ON GAMBLING IS BEING LIMITED TO YOUNG PEOPLE AND A SMALL NUMBER OF INVITED ADULTS ONLY.

Archebwch nawr
Book Now

Don’t miss out! Secure your FREE place at the Wales Youth Forum now.

0 DAYS TO THE EVENT
Fforwm Ieuenctid Cymru 2019 Wales Youth Forum
When
27 Jun 2019, 10:00 – 15:30
Where
Pierhead Building,
Pierhead Building, Cardiff CF10 4PZ, UK

Secure your free ticket to this industry leading event now! 

BOOK NOW

​

CODE OF CONDUCT
We want the 2019 Wales Youth Forum on Gambling to be a safe and welcoming place. Please treat all your fellow delegates and the speakers with respect both in person and on social media. If we feel that anyone is disrupting the event or acting in a way not in keeping with the ethos of the event, we reserve the right to remove any individual from the venue.

CONTACT
Wales Youth Forum on Gambling
Living Room Cardiff
58 Richmond Road

Cardiff CF24 3AT

​

CALL US
029 2030 2101

EMAIL US
[email protected]

FOLLOW US

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Is gambling all in the mind?

Is gambling all in the mind? The role of the brain in gambling addiction to be discussed at major conference.


A conference to tackle the problem of serious gambling and find lasting solutions will take place in Cardiff Bay’s Pierhead Building on Wednesday 20th June 2018 (9am-4pm), with contributions from respected professionals in the public health and problem gambling arena and those personally impacted by gambling. The fourth annual Excessive Gambling Wales conference, a Beat the Odds initiative, is sponsored by Darren Millar AM, which aims to enhance current thinking and knowledge about problem gambling. Gambling is not a new phenomenon, but problem gambling is on the increase and with it serious emotional, financial and psychological implications for individuals, families and society at large.



Confirmed speakers include Professor Samantha Thomas from Deakin University, Australia; Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones, National Problem Gambling Clinic, London; Professor Rebecca Cassidy, Goldsmiths University; Iain Corby, GambleAware; Dr Steve Sharman, Society for the Studies of Addiction; Wynford Ellis Owen, Specialist Counselling Consultant to Living Room Cardiff and Owen Baily who has experienced his own gambling problems.


Travelling from Australia to give the keynote speech at the conference is Professor Samantha Thomas. A public health sociologist and qualitative expert at Deakin Health Economics, Samantha specialises in understanding the impact of industry tactics on health behaviours. She has worked in a number of areas of health, including mental health, and obesity, but is most well known for her research into the commercial determinants of gambling harm, and public health advocacy responses to these.


Professor Samantha Thomas. A public health sociologist and qualitative expert at Deakin Health Economics.

Samantha is the world’s leading authority on the influence of gambling advertising on children and young adults. Her speech will explore the impact of gambling on children – the changes we are seeing in children’s attitudes towards gambling and how these are being shaped by the industry.


Joining Samantha on the podium is Dr Henrietta Bowden-Jones, a consultant psychiatrist with many years of experience in treating all mental illnesses. She is currently working both in the NHS where she runs a large team at the National Problem Gambling Clinic, at Imperial College where she has an Honorary Senior Lecturer post and is the co-recipient of Medical Research Grants, and at Nightingale Hospital London where she have worked for many years looking after people suffering from anxiety, stress, depression, alcohol problems, drug problems and relationship difficulties.


Access to gambling has never been easier – either on the high street or via a computer or television. With some 1,500 FOBT (fixed odd betting terminals) machines in Wales alone, the average stake on each machine is just over £1,000,000 per year or about £3,000 per day, resulting in a pre-tax profit per machine of £34,000. Figures for England and Wales show that almost 2% of the adult male population can now be classified as pathological gamblers. Many people who struggle with gambling don’t reach out for help until they’re in a crisis situation. Recent research suggests that only 10% of people with gambling problems seek formal help.

Speaking from personal experience at the conference s Owen Baily, a pathological gambler. For many years he was crippled by a major gambling problem. Now aged 35, Owen, who lives in Oxford, is sharing his story in the hope it may help somebody else come to terms with similar problems resulting from excessive gambling.


Owen, said, “When I reflect back on my life I’ve harboured an unhealthy attitude to gambling since my early childhood. My Mum used to work in pubs so I soon became fascinated by the fruit machines. I came from a very poor family and by my adolescence I was looking at ways of making money. Gambling seemed an obvious legal way to make money. As soon as I was old enough I would go down the arcades. I thought i could crack the workings of the old fruit machines to make a profit and soon became obsessed with gambling to the detriment of my social circle. I found it hard to make friends and gambling became my solace. It served a function and there was no risk or threat posed compared to engaging with others.


“I had a compulsion to gamble and it wasn’t long before I graduated to the world of casinos. it was possible to make more money playing roulette than fruit machines. However by the time I was 21 years old they had introduced Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs). The introduction of FOBTs coincided with a major period in my gambling journey as it brought the thrills of roulette and fruit machines together and I didn’t have to dress up or travel to a casino. The £500 jackpot was a huge allure. it soon became a major part of my life and my favourite gambling product.


“I won a lot of money through playing FOBTs but also lost a great deal of money. I went from having everything to losing everything. I had a gambling crisis which led to the start of a very self-destructive phase in my life. i quit my job and my home and ran away to Europe. I just couldn’t cope with the fact I’d lost all my money. The plan soon fell apart when I spent the last remaining money I had gambling on board the ferry.


“I eventually made it to Holland but came back to the UK after a few weeks and found myself intentionally homeless. I accessed a homeless centre where I soon developed an alcohol dependency. I couldn’t get work but I did manage to start selling the Big Issue.

“Its a strange irony that if I hadn’t started drinking I wouldn’t have been able to access the help of an addiction facility as gambling wasn’t recognised as an addiction at that time. However with a few months I was able to stop drinking for four years but gambling remained a persistent problem. it was a chronic problem even when I wasn’t drinking and I found it extremely difficult to not gamble.


“Over time I realised the degree of attachment i had towards gambling. It defined who I was and I had to start a difficult grieving process to release myself from the addiction. Without gambling who was I? The process wasn’t easy and i had periods of lapses and relapses and every time I relapsed it took months to get back on track again. It took over a decade to realise i could stop myself gambling for longer periods.

“I’ve now reached a point in my life when I’ve discovered a degree of self-awareness and knowledge and developed a number of coping strategies. Connecting with others is the cornerstone to my recovery as I don’t have any family support to call on. I still have the occasional binge but overall my quality of life has significantly improved and I live my life to the full once more.


“My mind goes straight to gamblers struggling like mad to keep everything in check. My advice is no matter how difficult or problematic a situation may appear, rest assured things will and can get better. Don’t be alone and seek support as there is help out there.


“FOBTs are dangerous there is no doubt and while reducing the maximum stake is a much needed response there are still ways and means to get round it and spend considerably more if you are a serious gambler.”


Since the 2015 conference the Beat the Odds initiative has undertaken considerable outreach work and research regarding the scale of excessive gambling in Wales. It is currently providing support for over 78 excessive gamblers who have sought help as part of their recovery.


ENDS

For further information please contact Rhodri Ellis Owen at Cambrensis Communications on 07885 416103 or [email protected]


Editor’s notes

The conference is open to anybody with an interest in the subject matter and tickets can be booked by either telephoning 029 20 493895 or email [email protected] or visit www.livingroom-cardiff.com/gambling-wales-booknow.

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Mr. Tipster yn helpu gamblwyr i guro’r bwci yn ystod mis Chwefror

Archebwch nawr
Book Now

Don’t miss out! Secure your FREE place at the Wales Youth Forum now.

0 DAYS TO THE EVENT
Fforwm Ieuenctid Cymru 2019 Wales Youth Forum
When
27 Jun 2019, 10:00 – 15:30
Where
Pierhead Building,
Pierhead Building, Cardiff CF10 4PZ, UK
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Mr. Tipster helps gamblers kick the habit during the month of February

  • LRCadmin

Mr. Tipster helps gamblers kick the habit during the month of February

Problem gambling is a growing problem for many and when it becomes excessive it not only affects the gambler, but also family, friends and society at large in many destructive ways. Millions of pounds are gambled each year in the UK on various forms of gambling, but by far the biggest threat is posed by Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBTs).


The second Flutter-free February campaign, a Beat the Odds initiative led by Living Room Cardiff, aims to encourage those who gamble – whether online or at the bookies – to take a pledge to stop gambling during the month of February 2018. This year a new character, Mr Tipster, will provide daily tips on how to beat the urge to gamble.



A dedicated website www.flutterfree.com provides a means to register a pledge to stop gambling for the month of February. A fundraising pack is now available online with ideas on how to get involved with the campaign. Pledgers are also encouraged to send a thumbs up selfie in support of the campaign via #flutterfreefeb.


Wynford Ellis Owen, who is leading the Beat the Odds initiative on behalf of Living Room Cardiff, said, “Flutter-free February is now in its second year and the need to tackle the scourge of problem gambling has not gone away. We want to encourage as many people as possible to think twice before placing a bet and our Mr. Tipster character will help by offering simple daily tips on how to stop gambling. These include self-exclusion from all betting shops, contacting broadband suppliers to block access to any over 18s sites as well as deleting any gambling apps on devices.


“The data on gambling prevalence in Wales is poor. Based on the evidence available, The Living Room Cardiff estimate that there are around 114,000 at risk and problematic gamblers in Wales with as much as 12,000 considered having a gambling disorder. The Gambling Commission figures show that over £1.62billion was staked on Fixed Odds Betting Terminals (FOBT) alone, an average of £675 per adult with an overall loss of £51.5 billion.


“While the UK Government announced Wales will have responsibility for all new FOTBs, the 1500 terminals already in operation are not devolved and will remain the responsibility of the UK Government. FOBTs are just one of the countless gambling opportunities available.


“The Flutter-free February campaign will hopefully become a springboard for many to reach out for help in tackling their own gambling problems. Our work however is all year round and we will be hosting the 4th Welsh national ‘Beat the Odds’ conference on excessive gambling at the Pierhead Building in Cardiff Bay on 20th June 2018.


“This year’s theme ‘It’s all in the Mind’ will provide an opportunity for discussion and debate on the work undertaken at the Living Room Cardiff, examine the psychology of gambling as well as the latest research and best practice in tackling problem gambling delivered by experts from across the world.“


Confirmed speakers at the conference include Professor Samantha Thomas from Deakin University, Australia; Professor Rebecca Cassidy from Goldsmiths, University of London; Wales’ Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Frank Atherton; Sarah Harrison, CEO Gambling Commission; Dr. Henrietta Bowden-Jones, who runs the National Problem Gambling Clinic in London, the only NHS clinic dealing with gambling addiction, and Iain Corby, deputy CEO of GambleAware.


Clive Wolfendale, CEO CAIS ltd, Living Room Cardiff’s parent company, added, “Sensible opinion is at last being mobilised on the scourge of problematic gambling in the UK. We aim to keep Wales at the forefront of research and response in our programme of Beat the Odds events for 2018.”


ENDS

For any further information please contact Rhodri Ellis Owen at Cambrensis Communications on 07885 416103 or [email protected]


Editor’s notes

Beat the Odds (www.beattheodds.wales) is an innovative and much needed service in Wales to help tackle excessive gambling. A Living Room Cardiff/CAIS initiative, Beat the Odds aims to provide comprehensive information on how to deal with excessive gambling.


Fixed Odds Betting Terminals in Wales

FOBT statistics 2012 (source: the Gambling Commission)

There were 1450 FOBT machines in Wales in 2012. Based on these figures, the average staked on each machine was just over £1,000,000 per year or about £3,000 per day. Pre-tax profit per machine was about £34,000.

Amount staked Amount lost Amount staked per adult*

Wales as a whole

£1.62bn £51.5m £675

England

£37.2bn £1.18bn £877

Scotland

£4.22bn £134m £995

UK (not incl. N.I.)

£43bn £1.37bn £867

Cardiff (pop. 325,000)

£274m £8.7m £1053

Newport (pop. 128,000)

£122m £3.9m £1191

Wrexham (pop. 70,000)

£62.8m £2m £1121

Bristol (pop. 430,000)

£376m £12m £1093

Coventry (pop. 325,000)

£185m £5.9m £711

Edinburgh (pop. 485,000)

£421m £13.4m £1085

*The adult population is estimated as 80% of the total population.

As can be seen from the above, gambling on FOBTs in Cardiff, Newport and Wrexham is on a par with other more populated cities in England.

Living Room Cardiff is a community-based recovery centre and is based in 58 Richmond Road Cardiff. It aims to offer support for anyone experiencing difficulties in relation to alcohol, drugs (prescribed or illicit) or any other dependency or harmful behaviour.

The Living Room Cardiff Concept (LRC) is like no other rehabilitation service currently offered in Wales. The community-based day-care Recovery Centre will provide a safe, easy access, non-judgemental space offering a range of interventions including peer-based individual and group psychosocial support.

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Events | Digwyddiadau

EVENTS | DIGWYDDIADAU

Retreat – St. Non’s

27 – 30 August/Awst

Our next ‘Love & Forgiveness’ retreat will be held at St Non’s Retreat Centre, St David’s, Pembrokeshire, from the 22nd to the 25th of August 2019.

 

Download our brochure for more information.

 

Cost:

£280

TBC
Retreat – Trefecca

TBC – 27 – 29 Nov / Tach

Join us for our ‘Love & Forgiveness’ retreat that will be held at Trefecca, Brecon Beacons from the 29th of November to the 1st of December 2019.
 

Download our brochure for more information.

 

Cost:

£280

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Meditation