A new, unique mental health, alcohol and drug recovery service has opened in Renfrewshire

Working in partnership with local people who have lived or living experiences of mental health, alcohol or drug related issues, Renfrewshire Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP) has opened a new recovery service, CIRCLE (Continuing in Recovery Changes Lives Entirely) on Glasgow Road in Paisley.

CIRCLE has been developed to provide enhanced support to local people who are on a recovery journey. The newly refurbished site opens today (Monday, 15 November 2021). It will act as a central recovery hub for individuals referred to the service, with recovery activity delivered across local communities throughout Renfrewshire.

The service will provide a wide and varied programme of activities, aimed at encouraging, involving and supporting people in recovery.

This development aims to address a key gap within Renfrewshire’s mental health and alcohol and drug services, where a lack of recovery opportunities for people in treatment was previously identified. As has been evidenced in other areas in Scotland, enhanced recovery opportunities do contribute to better outcomes for individuals.

CIRCLE is fully supported by the Alcohol and Drug Partnership and builds on the work of the Renfrewshire Alcohol and Drug Commission to further strengthen the support in Renfrewshire for people in recovery.

CIRCLE will provide people with improved recovery opportunities and improved links to and from other related services, ensuring individuals feel sufficiently supported throughout their journey. This will increase opportunities for people to have more independence and choice on how they manage their own recovery.

It will have a different look and feel to anything else in Renfrewshire, having been designed with input from a group of peers at every step of the way. Access to professional support will be available from a staff team who will be operating alongside people with living experience of mental health, drug and alcohol recovery.  

Our Peer Recovery Group said: “It’s amazing, this place is a complete blank canvas and it’s all about what the service users want to see. Being in recovery, we know that you can feel invisible, but CIRCLE aims to reiterate that our service users are here and they’re contributing to society again.”

Christine Laverty, Interim Chief Officer of Renfrewshire HSCP added: “I am excited by this innovative and unique approach to both mental health and alcohol and drug recovery in Renfrewshire. In collaboration with partners, people with lived and living experience have been at the heart of the design and planning of CIRCLE – and this will continue as the service develops and expands. Enhancing recovery opportunities is a key priority in Renfrewshire and CIRCLE will play a major part in doing so.