Gambling Treatment Seekers in Ohio - Access Experiences

Stanford journalism student working on a story about gambling treatment access in Ohio — looking to talk to anyone who has navigated the system Hi everyone. My name is Kenzie, and I'm a journalism student at Stanford working on a data story about gambling treatment access in Ohio. I have moderator approval for this post and appreciate you taking the time to read it. Here's what the story is about: I've spent the past six weeks building a county-by-county dataset of gambling treatment providers in Ohio using the state's referral directory. What I found is that 38 of Ohio's 88 counties have no on-site gambling treatment provider listed at all, and most of the rest have just one. Ohio has built more treatment infrastructure than most states — a dedicated problem gambling network, a telehealth system, a state counselor credential— but I want to hear from people who have turned to the treatment system to see if it’s enough. What I'm not writing is an anti-gambling piece. I'm not trying to argue that gambling should be banned or pass any judgment on people who gamble. I'm trying to understand what happens when someone in Ohio decides they need help and goes looking for it. What do they find? What don't they find? How far do they have to go? What does the process feel like? I'm looking for anyone who has sought gambling treatment in Ohio — whether you found help easily, had to travel or wait, used telehealth, hit dead ends, or anything in between. Every experience is valuable to this reporting, not just the worst-case scenarios. If treatment worked well for you, I want to hear that too. Sharing your experience could help other people in the same situation. A few things I want to be clear about: You can talk to me on the record (using your full name), on background (I'd describe you generally but not name you), or off the record (just to help me understand the landscape). Your choice, and we'd agree on the terms at the start of our conversation. I’m not going to ask you to share anything you're not comfortable with. You set the boundaries. I’m a student journalist. This story will be submitted as part of my graduate program and hopefully published to an Ohio-based news organization. I’ll absolutely share the link with this community when it goes live. I'm happy to share more about myself, the story, or my program over DM before you decide whether to talk. If any of this resonates, please send me a DM. And if you're not in Ohio but know someone who is, I'd appreciate you passing this along. Thank you for reading this, and thank you to the moderators for letting me post.