BAY MINETTE, Ala.  — While past years have meant rerouted phone calls and confusion for gambling-addicted North Baldwin residents, a Bay Minette church now offers Gamblers Anonymous meetings.

Meetings are held at 3 p.m. Sundays at New Day Ministries on Hand Avenue, just inside the side entrance of the church.

The 501(c) not-for-profit organization, has formed a hotline to give affected residents the local help they need in times of crisis.

Paul Peloquin, the organization's founder, said he is keenly aware of the need for immediate, individual counsel and group meetings for people effected by gambling addiction.

“It’s our goal to offer a proactive response to provide these services to the citizens of this state,” he said in a recent interview. “We have established an 800-help line that is point specific to the state of Alabama. It is being directly answered in Alabama where we have the best understanding and knowledge base of where to place and advise those individuals to getting the help they need for their issue.”

According to Peloquin, Bay Minette is the part of a long-term goal.

“We are currently in the process of establishing gamblers anonymous meetings in all major metropolitan cities in Alabama as to assist in the criteria for recovery,” he said.

According to the founder, ACOPG intends to direct gamblers to meetings,  like at New Day Ministries’ and to expand such meetings to increasingly more locations and times to better serve those in need. The group would combine “90 meetings in 90 days,” Peloquin said.

Stacy Wilks, executive director of the ACOPG, agreed that immediate attention is necessary as most callers are in a suicidal state.

The organization, founded in 1999, has received 7,000 calls, to date, from those suffering from gambling-related issues. Peloquin said these statistics confirm the need for the group’s urgency-based approach.

“People are going out of the state to gamble and coming back here with their problems,” he said. “First strike, we refer them to the soonest GA (Gamblers Anonymous) meeting as a pre-emptive strike to de-negatize what’s going on in their lives while waiting to get an appointment with a counselor who can help them, free of charge.”

Peloquin explained that gambling negatively affects one out of every 10 people, a more common issue than is often realized.

“The liquor store no more created the alcoholic any more than casinos created gambling addiction, but there are 11 bills in the Senate right now and six in the House of Representatives to deal with gambling issues, and we’d better be ready to do something,” he said.

For more information, visit www.acopg.org. For help with gambling issues, call the hotline at (800) 494-2737.