My name is Dana and I am a recovered gambler. I am proud to say I share my story in public through ReSPIN (a Gambling Awareness Speakers Bureau) and Humans in Geelong as it is now a valuable tool for the community and professionals to understand the harm that Poker machines can cause to innocent lives! Please share.
Here is a brief summary of my life.
I was born during the Second World War in Europe, my family was shifted between various displaced persons camps in Germany for over 5 years, until offers came for overseas migration. Through the mayhem of war, we were considered refugees living in the camps. The men gambled Poker, as there was nothing much else for them to do. As a child I cleaned their ash trays which was a nice treat – and I also learnt how to play poker simultaneously!
I migrated with my mother and sister to Western Australia by ship but later realised there wasn’t much choice for female labour there, so we moved to Victoria. I was very young, my mother and elder sister worked odd jobs, and we stayed in camps. My uncle was a huge help to us, all three worked hard and eventually bought a shack in Richmond together which finally was home.
HuG 