✓ Meet your supervisor and clarify your role

• Discuss expectations, boundaries, and how peer support differs from clinical or cultural roles

• Ask questions about what support looks like in your service

• Understand your scope—what you can and cannot do

• Familiarise yourself with your organisation's policies and procedures.

• Understand and follow your communication/reporting line

✓ Understand safety and escalation procedures

• Know when and how to escalate concerns (e.g., immediate risk, harm to self/others)

• Learn who to contact in emergencies and after-hours

• Review confidentiality protocols and their limits

✓ Map local services and support networks

• Problem Gambling Foundation (PGF): Main gambling harm services

• Mapu Maia: Pasifika-led mental health, addiction and wellbeing support

• Asian Family Services (AFS): Culturally specific support for Asian communities

• Kaupapa Māori services.

• Budgeting services: Financial advice and support

• Whānau/aiga supports: Family-centred services, churches, marae, temples, community groups. Social Services.

✓ Identify your "peer buddy"

• Connect with another peer worker for regular debrief, support, and learning

• Use each other for reality checks, celebration, and shared problem-solving.

✓ Create your personal wellness plan

• List what restores you (e.g., time in nature, whānau/aiga time, exercise, faith practices)

• Identify early warning signs of burnout or stress

• Set boundaries around work hours and emotional load

• Review this plan regularly with your supervisor​

Remember: Your first week is about building foundations—understanding your role, knowing where to get help, and looking after yourself so you can walk alongside others with strength and clarity.

• Begin with whakawhanaungatanga (Māori), talanoa (Pasifika), or samvda/dialogue (Asian).

• Ask how they would like to open the session (karakia/poem/words of encouragement).

• Clarify your supportive role; ask about cultural, whānau, and community preferences.

• When emotions rise, pause and ground together.

• Focus on strengths and what safety/respect means for the person’s culture and context.

Money Safety Steps:

• Encourage blocking gambling apps/sites, withdrawing only daily cash.

• Connect to budgeting services.

• Discuss self-exclusion and MVE as tools of empowerment.

Soft Entry - These are low-pressure, accessible ways to begin building trust and connection:

• Coffee or kai (food) sharing – Meeting in a relaxed, informal setting where people feel comfortable.

• Walking side-by-side – Reduces intensity of eye contact; great for difficult conversations.

• Text or phone check-ins – Non-intrusive, allows people to respond in their own time.

• Community/faith-based introductions – Meeting at church, marae, temple, or community centres where people already feel safe and connected.

• Group settings – Some people feel safer starting in peer support groups rather than one-on-one.

• Online or video check-ins – Flexible option for those with transport barriers or who prefer digital connection​.

Remember: Always ask the person what feels comfortable and safe for them. There's no "one size fits all"—flexibility is key.

These practical scenarios help you navigate common situations with confidence, using harm reduction principles and culturally responsive approaches.​

• Early Concern: “I lost a bit, but it’s fine.” Explore what “fine” means, and co-design small next steps.

• Crisis Point: Daily gambling, missed bills—prioritise safety, discuss MVE, escalate.

• Family Impacted: Validate pain, create a family/aiga/kainga check-in plan, respect collective decision-making.

• Venue/MVE: Explain self-exclusion as empowerment rather than punishment.

Scenario 1: Early Concern – "I lost a bit, but it's fine"

• Response: Gently explore what "fine" really means. Ask about impacts on finances, relationships, or well-being

• Action: Co-design small, achievable next steps (e.g., setting spending limits, identifying triggers)

• Remember: Non-judgmental curiosity builds trust

Scenario 2: Crisis Point – Daily gambling, missed bills

• Response: Prioritise immediate safety and basic needs (food, shelter, urgent debts)

• Action: Discuss Multi-Venue Exclusion (MVE) as an empowerment tool; connect to budgeting services urgently; escalate to the clinical team

• Remember: Crisis is not failure—it's an opportunity for change​

Scenario 3: "I've relapsed—I feel like I've failed"

• Response: Normalise that recovery isn't linear; relapse is part of many recovery journeys, not a sign of failure

• Action: Explore what triggered the relapse without judgment; identify lessons learned; adjust harm reduction strategies; reinforce hope

• Remember: Every setback offers learning—hold hope even when they can't​

The team has pulled together trusted resources to support your practice as a peer support worker in gambling harm. Here you’ll find direct links to service providers, training opportunities, sector events, and other helpful tools. It’s designed to save you time, connect you to the right people and places, and help you stay informed about what’s happening across the field.

Te Pou is a national workforce centre for addiction and mental health in Aotearoa New Zealand, improving the workforce performance of addiction and mental health services. View resource links here.

PGF Services deliver treatment and public health services nationwide, providing free counselling, advice and support to anyone impacted by gambling harm. View resource links here.

Asian Family Services (AFS) is New Zealand’s leading provider of culturally responsive services aimed at preventing and minimising gambling harm within Asian communities. View resource links here.

Odyssey’s Taupae Wheako Centre for Lived Experience Peer Support is dedicated to building the capability and confidence of people with lived experience of addiction and recovery. View resource links here.

The Southern Peer hub is a space where all those using their lived experience to work in systemic, organisational or face to face change, can gather and seek knowledge, connection and support. View resource links here.

ABACUS is a nationwide, New Zealand Qualifications Authority (NZQA) provider of Professional Supervision for the workplace. View resource links here.

Intentional Peer Support offer a range of trainings to examine and practice what is necessary to build mutual support and create relationships where people learn and grow together. View resource links here.

Mapu Maia provides a holistic service to individuals, families and communities that is culturally appropriate and effective. We offer free, professional and confidential counselling services and education. View resource links here.

Te Rau Matatau is a centre of excellence in Māori education and training that offers a range of Hauora programmes that are NZQA registered and an approved Private Training Establishment within Te Rau Ora. View resource links here.