Ms Shirleen Prasad, of Auckland, MNZM, for services to addiction services and the South Asian community
Shirleen Prasad is a counsellor and Addictions Practitioner. She pioneered project work to investigate gambling harm in South Asian communities in Auckland. She established a Hindi-line within the Asian family services helpline. She initiated ASHA, a trial programme with the Problem Gambling Foundation, to support South Asian clients nationally. While establishing ASHA, she was the sole staff member for two years. She has presented at conferences and in media on gambling in the South Asian community. She has been one of the principal investigators and a student researcher on three gambling-related research projects. Ms Prasad established a counselling support group for South Asian inmates in Mt Eden Corrections Facility.