9 OUT OF 10 BAME MICRO AND SMALL ORGANISATIONS SET TO CLOSE IF THE CRISIS CONTINUES BEYOND 3 MONTHS FOLLOWING THE LOCKDOWN
Friday 5th June 2020
THE FINDINGS OF SURVEYS WE CONDUCTED SUGGEST THAT IF THE CRISIS CONTINUES FOR UP TO 3 MONTHS, CLOSE TO 90% OF 137 BAME LED MICRO AND SMALL ORGANISATIONS WHO RESPONDED TO THE SURVEY COULD CLOSE PERMANENTLY WITHIN 3 MONTHS IF THE CRISIS EXTENDS INTO JUNE.
The report, Impact of COVID-19 on BAME community and voluntary organisations, is based on two surveys administered between 19 March and 4 April and received 182 responses, of which 137 were Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) led organisations.
The surveys predated the revelations captured in the Intensive Care National Audit and Research Centre’s report which has been reported on extensively since it was identified after 4 April.
According to the Guardian, for example, that report suggests that the early figures on the incidence of Covid-19 showed 35% of almost 2,000 patients in intensive care units were black or from another minority ethnic backgrounds, despite BAME people making up only 14% of the population, according to the last census.
The first wave of survey results predates the announcements, which started to unpeel some of the voices heard across BAME communities from personal stories that were not being reflected in any mainstream media outlets, until the ICNARC report. The survey report shows that, far from being passive recipients of the virus, BAME communities are fighting shoulder to shoulder with other communities being affected.
