From one café in Cambuslang to five across Lanarkshire, Café Connect is challenging stigma and creating opportunities for people who use alcohol and other drugs to feel valued, included and part of their communities.
In 2022, 25 people died as a result of overdose in Rutherglen and Cambuslang. This highlighted a significant gap in local support for people who were still using substances. While there were opportunities for people seeking recovery, there were far fewer spaces for those who continued to use alcohol and other drugs. Many experienced stigma, exclusion and a lack of opportunities to feel connected and valued.
Recognising this gap, Turning Point Scotland developed the idea for Café Connect. Working alongside local partners, community members and high street businesses, Turning Point Scotland created a welcoming space where people could come together, build relationships and feel part of their community, without judgement or pressure to stop using substances.
Unlike traditional recovery cafés, harm reduction cafés welcome people who are still using alcohol and other drugs. They recognise that everyone deserves access to connection, support and a sense of belonging, regardless of where they are in their journey. While Café Connect offers a non-judgemental space for people who use alcohol and other drugs, the use or consumption of substances on the premises is not permitted, in accordance with the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.
Café Connect is underpinned by Turning Point Scotland’s Citizenship approach, which focuses on four key elements: Belonging, Identity, Valued Roles and Recognition.
Importantly, the people attending the café helped shape its development from the very beginning, sharing what they needed from the space and contributing to its charter.
Their feedback spoke volumes:
“Safe space. Feels there isn’t anything like Café Connect.”
“Good laugh, smiled a lot for the first time in a while.”
These comments reflect the difference that having a welcoming, inclusive space can make.
Starting in Cambuslang, the model has now grown into five harm reduction cafés across North and South Lanarkshire: Cambuslang, Carluke, Rutherglen, Motherwell and Coatbridge.
The approach is built around five core principles:
- Anti-stigma
- Inclusion
- Freedom and Power
- Citizenship
- Harm Reduction
Following the positive response to Café Connect and growing interest from partner organisations and colleagues, Turning Point Scotland has developed a Harm Reduction Café How to Guide.
The guide explores the five principles, and nine key questions organisations should consider when developing their own harm reduction café.
Our message is that everyone deserves to feel that they belong. Café Connect is demonstrating how creating spaces built on inclusion, respect and citizenship can make a real difference.
For anyone interested in developing a harm reduction café? Download our How to Guide HERE.