The Hope Project in Hall, Australian Capital Territory | Motivational speaker

The Hope Project

Locality: Hall, Australian Capital Territory

Phone: +61 404 059 462

Address: PO Box 384 2618 Hall, ACT, Australia

Website: http://thehopeprojectnow.com

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• Alternative & holistic health service
• Educational consultant
• Motivational speaker

25.01.2022 On the 23rd of March we witnessed something very extraordinary, the country all but shut down, slowing to pace that is equivalent to a shallow breath. In closing pubs and clubs the Pokies fell silent and suddenly unimportant as people went about their days, checking on their neighbours wellbeing, zooming with family and friends, reimagining their work and home lives to comply with sudden change. In a few short days the Pokies will reopen, don’t get me wrong, pubs and clubs s...hould open for people to eat and connect, but the Pokies should stay off. How can the economic recovery of our country be taken seriously, if these mechanical financial drainers are switched back on? Let’s be clear, the evidence has always been there, the extensive gambling harm and massive societal fallout of losses, over $24Billion pa and over 400 lives to suicide, but a blind political eye is turned. Our country is now hurting in a way that we have never seen before, so as I explained to someone the other day, who said it’s just a matter of individual choice, it isn’t, it’s not an even playing field, the industry knows that. None of my advocacy in this space has been about the people who have already gambled, yes it helps them, but I have always been focused on the protection of those that have never, ever, sat at a Pokie, they are so completely unaware of the danger in front of them, how quickly their minds and wallets can be overwhelmed and the rapid decent into pain that follows. We now have a massive cohort of people who are struggling with their life in a way that they never imagined, perhaps they lost family overseas to COVID 19, lost their job, their purpose, perhaps they have been experiencing financial hardship and relationships are strained. Virtually every household in Australia now fits this description in one form or another and adding gambling to this mix will not just be harmless fun, it’s like pouring petrol on a fire. For the past 8 years since I began sharing my experience with gambling harm, I have been overwhelmed by the extensive experiences of others, the way a seemingly benign encounter with gambling can escalate to pure hell for the individual and their families. The recklessness of the Government to fail to protect the community from this known harm in this time of crisis is breaking me inside. Other countries across the world have banned gambling to protect the wellbeing of their citizens and promote economic recovery- Every year we lose 4x the number of people we lost to COVID 19 to gambling related suicide, within the current economic and social environment, that number could skyrocket, so why on earth would we gamble with Australia’s future for the sake of a machine? #Buildbackbetter #harmprevention #wholisticecconomy

24.01.2022 Adversity is an unavoidable aspect of our life, it may be through death of a loved one, illness, job loss, addiction, family breakdown etc... Trauma creates an impact that we cannot control, healing is a journey of change that we can control. Developing constructive relationships to adversity and being able to build resilience is vital. Be a part of this change that is needed in order to change outcomes of unanswered pain in our society. Bookings are open for 2019 for workpla...ces, schools/university’s and communities. Options : - Screening of 1 hr documentary, keynote and Q&A. - Screening + 1/2 day Resilience workshop - Screening + full day Resilience workshop Book now https://thehopeprojectnow.com/host-a-screening-of-resilien/ Link for the trailer https://youtu.be/We2BqmjHN0k

23.01.2022 THIS You might be thinking Pokies ...Meh. But if you care about the impact of domestic violence, ... If you care about the issue of homelessness, If you care about intergenerational poverty, If you care about suicide prevention, If you care about the impact of crime and money laundering, If you care about the impact of Pokies on small businesses, Or if you are just a person who wants to see Australia thrive, I URGE you to get involved and please sign Our incredible country CANNOT continue to lose $24Billion dollars a year in Gambling Losses, causing all kinds of societal harms such as the ones listed above. Please sign below, share and add this text so people understand this complex issue and that Gambling Harm impacts us all.

21.01.2022 If you haven’t already come across this doco on Netflix, I feel it should be mandatory viewing for all how are on some level of activity online. For 8 years I have been realising on a variety of levels that we have not been equipped as human beings, to cope with adversity on many levels and we can spend decades either hiding, numbing or escaping from these impacts. Trauma or unresolved pain has an imprint on almost every family in some way shape or form. We are just now comi...ng to a deeper understanding of how these impacts can be transformed and healed, where as in the past they may have been labeled and shamed. But we live in a new era of addiction by design, one that knows how to exploit human vulnerabilities faster than we can imagine or notice coming. The brazen recklessness and intent to cause harm to other humans for financial gain is the business model of so many industry’s now in both the online and offline space, it’s just so disgusting. Being vigilant to protect your own wellbeing against these harms has been at the core of my work in the presentations I’ve given in schools workplaces and across the community, on proactively building resilience in our culture that unwittingly supports and hands over power and influence to industries that only protect their business model, over positive human outcomes. Our modern tech environment ‘social media’ simply ramped up the science and knowledge of how to intentionally manipulate people’s minds from the decades of destruction and commercial success of poker machines and exploit humanity on a new level, creating a system that primes the body for addiction and overwhelm, the only difference is that the business model is just hidden from sight. When the gambling industry says Pokies are just harmless entertainment, no one who has had first hand experience of their destructive power believes that lie, just as we don’t believe the lie that Social media companies claim that their platforms are just about connection. They are about monetisation of successful exploitation of a human vulnerability. People have just not caught on to the fact that THEY are the product being sold in a variety of ways. Kate

21.01.2022 My everything To my incredible Mumma and Mother in Law, I hold such deep respect for your wisdom, guidance, support and sacrifice in helping me raise these 6 incredible human beings. Thank you ... My GG, Grandma, Nan and Nanna Knowles in Heaven the powerful witness of female strength you showed me growing up, the awe I have felt in my life, hearing stories of the myriad of ways that you endured hardships absolutely blows my mind. To all the incredible women who have influenced my life or my children’s life, in a maternal way, I honour you today, regardless of whether or not you have given birth. #mothersday2020 #honour #maternalinfluence

17.01.2022 To me it’s not about the the people who have experienced harm from gambling, it’s about our duty to protect from known harms. Pokie harm isn’t not a new thing, it’s been happening for decades and no one person or group has had the power to stop this harm from impacting more and more Australians. Then COVID 19 did the impossible and closed down Pokie venues and Australia got to experience how irrelevant they are to our life and there was space to consider how, by their very d...esign, they hold the power to destroy the wellbeing of those who use them. Social spaces are important and we need them as a connected society, but these toxic machines are now deliberately woven into essential social spaces, making them seem like they are in fact essential too but they are not. Before COVID 19, Every 5 weeks Australians lost $1Billion dollars on Pokies and more than 1 person a day from gambling related suicide. WHY is that not enough harm to shut them down for good? We are on the brink of recession, households doing it tough, unemployment, financial distress and uncertainty, we are dealing with an enormous new level of pain and trauma as a result of this Global Situation, will someone please point me to the expert that has signed off on creating more access to gambling as being a responsible approach to economic recovery and protecting the financial wellbeing of the Australian Population. So as I said it’s not about the ones that have already been harmed.....it’s about the millions of Australians we are failing to protect. See more

15.01.2022 Mr Van Duinen died in tragic circumstances. His heavy gambling occurred at a club that was giving him special treatment while failing to recognise his problem, despite having extensive data to do so. The comment above speaks to the very core of the Gambling issue in this country and why we are failed on every front. For Mr Van Duinen to receive ‘special’ treatment (Harbour cruises, VIP nights free food and drinks) he was identified as one of the clubs top 100 VIP guests ...which actually translates to the top 100 biggest losers on the Pokies, this is the extensive data that was referred to by the Independent Liquor and Gaming Commission (ILGC). Clubs literally take the most intentionally addictive product available and further groom people for addiction and reward them for extensively using it. The ILGC said the club ‘failed’ Mr Van Duinen by failing to recognise his problem - The clubs are NEVER going to see excessive losses as a problem - IT’S INFACT THEIR BUSINESS MODEL! The final statement I want to make is regarding the part of the sentence that hurts me most, ‘his problem’. As someone who also struggled with these machines to the point of almost taking my life, I understand there is always an element of personal responsibility when looking at this issue, but the fact is that the consumer is utterly blindsided by the seductive influence of a machine that we were never adequately educated to understand the dangers it poses, not like we were drugs alcohol and tobacco. The playing field is not anywhere near equal, with clubs controlling the narrative that Pokies are just harmless fun and it’s the individual who is the ‘problem’. I urge people to watch the documentary KaChing Pokie Nation to fully understand the workings of the machine and the complex history of this addiction in this country. Gary’s death, whilst extremely tragic, is actually a predictable outcome as echoed by the 400 Gambling related suicides impacting Australian families each year who’s names we never hear and faces we never see, because their families have bought into the club narrative that they are Problem Gamblers and they feel ashamed. The Gambling Harm shame belongs on the heads of those who have ignored the pleas of our communities for decades as they have been bled dry, creating inter generational poverty etc, shame on regulators and government who have refused to make Pokies safer via $1 max bets and removing addictive and deceptive features. This is my humble observation of a horrific circumstance that could be radically improved if the Gambling Industry was pulled into line by a Royal Commission. Until then, we will continue to be failed and the unnecessary destruction of individuals like Mr Van Duinen will occur. The #DeeWhy #RSL will have to pay $200k for pushing loyalty incentives on to a man who was experiencing severe #gambling harm.

15.01.2022 Australian Government’s key research body is examining the effects of gambling in the community during COVID-19. Survey takes 15 minutes To understand how people in Australia have adjusted to recent changes in gambling availability. Requirement: All you need is to be 18 years old or over, living in Australia, and to have gambled in the past 12 month

10.01.2022 Shame is a powerful force in our modern world, it can impact our lives in a variety of ways and be present both in overt and covert ways. Shame is like a layer of invisible plastic that can coat a person, slowly suffocating them and yet those around them simply cannot see the invisible pain so they don’t know how to help. Have a listen to my podcast interview with Karen from @genius_project_daily as I share my encounter with Shame and healing. https://podcasts.apple.com...//the-genius-podcast/id1512324456 . . .#shame #addiction #addictionrecovery #healing #faith #femininegenius #hope #gambling #growthnotshame

07.01.2022 Before you sign up as a user you have to agree ‘Not to join a class action’ Welcome to the openly brazen and predatory gambling industry, who has successfully captured more unsuspecting people during the despair of COVID 19. Please be educated about this threat and PLEASE warn your children!

07.01.2022 When I received the call from Gemma at Mamamia explaining how they wanted to share the stories of three women with different struggles to help people connect with the reality of ‘high functioning’ addiction in our culture, I said yes. It is the exact reason why I began speaking publicly about my struggles, to try and bridge the gap between people in the grip of a struggle and accessing help and support, without it having to escalate to crisis point and beyond. I never, ever ...saw the struggle I was in at the time, in the correct light. The impact of shame had disconnected me from the truth of who I was and the accepted cultural norm of addiction by design. I was in survival mode, I felt confused and isolated, with every trigger of pain and trauma leading to a further compounding of destructive choices. It would be 2 years after almost taking my life, that I connected to the strength and the importance of standing up to be a positive voice of change, to create a safer and more connected world. At the time I was not able to see that I had been accumulating knowledge through my experience, that have now been used in both my advocacy work to create gambling reforms, founding The Hope Project, speaking and running PROACTIVE RESILIENCE workshops in schools, universities, workplaces and communities. I also love being a coach, using my training and lived experience insights, in my addiction recovery coach role, for the incredible LA based online recovery alternative, IGNTD (pronounced Ignited) that is changing the modern landscape of addiction. Thank you to everyone who has supported me on this journey, both personally and professionally, I’m forever grateful and humbled. However, I’m beyond blessed to carry out my GREATEST role of all, each day, being wife to Phil and mum to our phenomenal 6 children. It’s an honour to witness their unique lives and encourage their gifts as human beings, knowing that we are never to be defined by our struggles and that vulnerability is the pathway to connection.

07.01.2022 My heart is heavy from fighting for the protection of others, because I had felt no one fought for me. I am fortunate, I narrowly escaped this powerful addiction with my life and massive financial damage, when over 400 people a year in this country do not, losing their lives to gambling harm I watched a news reel from 1961 and an ABC Journalist was asking people on the street if poker machines should be abolished? Even in their unsophisticated state, they were dangerous to hu...man beings and yet over 5 decades later, I’m pleading to govt and the regulators, at the very least, make them safer. Oh they are just harmless fun ...WRONG...they are designed to groom the user for addiction. With $10 max bets and losses disguised as wins features, the user can very quickly lose over $1200 per hour. For decades, laws and regulations have been designed to protect the machine and NOT the user. If the industry followed their lip service to ‘being committed’ to reduce gambling harm, they would have at the very least implemented the $1 max bets and the removal of all deceptive and addictive features as recommended by the productivity commission a decade ago. As we collectively brace ourselves for a slow and steady recovery from the economic impact of Covid 19, we must see this issue clearly, pre Covid our communities lost over $24billion on gambling last year, now we have sooooo many more people in financial, physical , economic and emotional hardship than ever in our nations history and the data from the first weeks of Pokies opening up again in NSW saw a record number of losses recorded. It’s true, we are all in this together, therefore we have to protect everyone from an issue that has been severely damaging Australians for decades. Please stand with me to protect the financial future of our country, it’s everyones responsibility .

05.01.2022 Thank you to @newideamagazine for inviting me to share my experience with gambling addiction and gambling harm to help those who may be struggling with this important public health issue, that is so destructive in our country. This is an important time in our country to re-evaluate our relationship to gambling and consider the massive societal toll, the widespread devastation felt by an industry that entices and intentionally manipulates losses of over $24Billion dollars per... year. COVID 19 has placed a strain on every household in Australia, other countries have taken protective action to protect their vulnerable communities from experiencing further harm from this predatory industry, our government has taken some small steps but more needs to be done. Connect with the Alliance for Gambling Reform via pokiesplayyou.org.au if you want to be part of the change in this important area. #gamblingaddiction #gamblingharm #gamblingawareness #recovery #shame #vulnerability #restoration #hope

02.01.2022 I’ve been busy on the ABC in Canberra today, sharing my perspective of lived experience with Gambling Harm as the Greens announced a move to reduce the maximum ...bet on Pokies from $10 to $5 and $100 load limits. I lend my support to any and all efforts to try and reduce Gambling Harm as this important public health issue continues to elude essential reform. Pre COVID 19 Canberra was losing $500000 a day on Pokies, whist Nationally every 5 weeks we lost $1 Billion dollars- every 5 Weeks! Post COVID 19 NSW has reopened venues since the beginning of June and the numbers are indicating that losses are much higher than this time last year. We have a brand new cohort of people who are financially distressed. We cannot wait, this protection is necessary to preserve the financial instability of our economy. See more

01.01.2022 I sat opposite my mother’s special cabinet, it’s polished rosewood with a mirrored lining and glass shelves. Perhaps you have seen one, perhaps you have one or someone you love has something similar. I starred at the assortment of ornaments, collected over her lifetime. As a child I was never allowed to access the cabinet, for fear I may break something...I gazed longer and longer and for the life of me I couldn’t actually locate anything especially valuable.... So why were these bizarre items guarded and protected with such importance? I suddenly realised that the true value, of the contents of this eclectic assembly, lay in their unique ability to access an emotional superhighway in a split second. The unique memories that qualified an item to be placed inside that cabinet, must have been just too incredible, that my mother never ever wanted to forget. As human beings we have an amazing ability to link, collect and lock events or memories in, with how we felt at that point in time. It made sense to me in a way I had never before considered. Each and every little thing in that cabinet gave my mum a never ending supply, a direct line to happiness, gratitude, family, love, hope and joy anytime she wanted, so cool! Every time I look at one of these cabinets in a persons home, I will see it much, much clearer now, you see, it is a polished rosewood cabinet that actually houses a plethora of emotional experiences ....that can be easily accessed by the owner. . . #emotions #memoriesforlife #connection #emotionalintelligence #precious