Engage Update - 26 October

Engage Renfrewshire Annual General Meeting 2026

Thursday 12 November between 3pm and 5pm at our offices in Ferguslie Park

Members and partners are encouraged to join online. 

Taking place both during Trustees Week (09 to 13 November) and DigiKnowVember attendees will hear presentations from staff and partners about Engage's support for volunteering and digital inclusion work across Renfrewshire.

The annual report for 2025/2026, including our audited accounts, will also be presented and made available following the AGM.

If you would like to attend please contact info@engagerenfrewshire.com for more details.

We hope to see you there! 

Trading Standards Scotland Bulletin  22 October

Circular Communities Scotland E-News October 2026

Third Force News - October 2026

NCSC - Cyber Alert - PHP vulnerability

Single Year Funding for 2027 available

The Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund is now welcoming application for its sixth year, covering activity and projects in 2027. The fund has a strong focus on prevention and early intervention and aims to support grassroots community groups in tackling mental health inequalities and address priority issues of social isolation and loneliness, suicide prevention and tackling poverty and inequality. 

The fund will be open until 30 October and successful groups will be notified by the end of December 2026. 

The Guidance and Funding Examples can be found on our dedicated webpage – Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund
Application Form

Remember that Engage is currently offering Application Writing Training and Bookkeeping training to the sector. See our full calendar of training and events: https://engagerenfrewshire.org/calendar/

Befriending Week

This November, we’re supporting Befriending Week, an annual campaign to raise awareness about befriending and highlight the power of social connection in reducing loneliness and social isolation.

Loneliness affects 1 in 6 people across the world. Befriending brings people together for planned social activities, building meaningful connections and reducing loneliness.

Befriending Week takes place from 1 to 7 November every year. It’s a chance for communities to raise awareness about befriending, celebrate the contributions of befriending volunteers and the staff who support them, and advocate for befriending to local and national decision-makers.

How to get involved

There are lots of ways you can join the Befriending Week campaign – every voice matters! You might:

• Share a befriending story on social media using the hashtag #BefriendingWeek
• Host or attend a befriending celebration event in your local area
• Search the Befriending Networks directory to connect with a local befriending project as a volunteer or service user
• Sign up for a Befriending Week event
• Write to your local politician asking them to show their support for befriending

To find out more, visit befriending.co.uk/befriending-week/get-involved.

You can also follow Befriending Networks on LinkedIn, Facebook or Bluesky for the latest campaign updates.

Five Family Payments

We’re currently running a campaign to raise awareness of the financial support available to pregnant families and new parents across Scotland, from pregnancy through to their child’s first birthday.
 
As part of the campaign, we’re hosting a series of free online information sessions for professionals who work with parents and expectant families, and I’d really appreciate your help in spreading the word through your professional network.
 
Five Family Payments information session
Thursday 29 October 2026
11:00am–11:45am
Sign up on Eventbrite
 
Five Family Payments information session
Tuesday 3 November 2026
2:00pm–2:45pm
Sign up on Eventbrite
 
The sessions are free, online and only 45 minutes long, making them an easy way for professionals to learn more about the financial support available to the families they work with.
 
We’d be grateful if you could share these sessions with colleagues, partners and others in your professional network who work with families and encourage them to sign up.

 

Peer Connects

5 November, 10:00 – 11:00

We thought you might also be interested in our forthcoming webinar: What helps peer support thrive? This webinar will explore the key enablers and barriers shaping peer support today. We’ll share what’s working, where challenges remain, and what needs to happen next.
 
This is a chance to build a shared understanding across roles and sectors, and to consider how we can better align around the conditions needed for peer support to thrive. Ideal for service managers, leads, commissioners, policy and strategic roles, and peer workers interested in influencing change.
 
Book your place on our Eventbrite https://WhatHelpsPeerSupportThrive.eventbrite.co.uk

The Recovery Collective have launched a number of new groups offering support to people across Renfrewshire and a programme of alcohol-free social events.

A new women’s group meets in person while a men’s group meets online, both on a weekly basis.
The alcohol-free social events will have a regular space at The Bungalow, with a mixture of entertainment on a monthly basis.

The Collective also have a new website which you can visit here and it carries all the information about upcoming events.

We’d like to congratulate the team at The Recovery Collective and Renfrewshire ADP will continue to support the work they are doing in building a more resilient Renfrewshire.

    

    

Blue Triangle leading the way through Routes to Recovery

Do you - or someone you know - need some support? Blue Triangle have got a safe space for you.

Peer-led support is a great way to find out that you're not alone. Other people have been on the recovery journey and no matter what stage you are at, you'll be able to find help - and you'll be able to help others.

You may not think that right now, but that's what support does - it empowers you, it empowers others and it helps everyone find their own route to recovery.

 

Nyxoid nasal naloxone now available in Renfrewshire

Nyxoid, a nasal spray form of naloxone, is now available from Renfrewshire ADRS.
 
Naloxone is a potentially life-saving medication that can temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Nyxoid is being introduced as an additional option alongside existing naloxone provision, helping to increase access and choice for people who may experience or witness an overdose.
 
For some people, an injectable kit can be a barrier to carrying or using naloxone. This may include concerns about needles, fear of injury, lack of confidence in giving an injection, or the potential for injecting equipment to be triggering for some people in recovery. Having both nasal and injectable naloxone available gives people greater choice, helping them select the option they feel most comfortable and confident carrying and using.
 
Offering people a choice in the naloxone they carry can help remove barriers to access and create a more person-centred and compassionate approach to overdose prevention. Most importantly, we want as many people as possible to feel confident carrying naloxone and being prepared to use it in an emergency.
 
The introduction of Nyxoid forms part of Renfrewshire Alcohol and Drug Partnership’s commitment to reduce drug-related harms and increase the availability of naloxone across local communities.
 
We would encourage frontline staff and partner organisations to continue discussing naloxone with people who may be at risk of overdose, their families and others who may witness an overdose, and to make people aware that both nasal and injectable options are now available through Renfrewshire ADRS and HaRRT.
 
For supplies of Naloxone contact Renfrewshire ADRS on 0300 300 1199 (option 2) or by email: addictions.sw@renfrewshire.gov.uk or HaRRT on 0141 314 4364 or by email: Renfrewshire.Info@cgl.org.uk
 
For further information about Naloxone and training, please contact Katie Yuile via katie.yuile@nhs.scot.