Living in the Margins - highlighting impact of cuts to BME services

A social media campaign has been launched to highlight the impact of cuts to care and support services used by Black and Minority Ethnic communities.

'Living in the Margins', led by The Afiya Trust, is a campaign was launched today with the aim to alleviate health inequalities for BME families and community organisations in a climate of cuts.

A key aim of this campaign is to seek to establish the impact of the cuts over three financial years (2010/2011, 2011/12 and 2012/13) on BME-led organisations and other organisations that are providers of services to BME communities.

Set up in 1997, the Afiya Trust supports and maintains national and local networks concerned with the promotion of BME health and social care issues such as the National BME Mental Health Network, the National Black Carers and Carers Workers Network as well as projects on long term conditions such as stroke, diabetes and cancer.

Living in the Margins campaign hopes to use social media to lobby local and national government as well as work with the BME voluntary and community sector and BME families to tackle the adverse affects of race specific health inequalities.

As BME families have historically encountered barriers in accessing equitable health and social care services and outcomes, the campaign aims to provide them with the tools to challenge the cuts in their communities and protect the services they need.

There have been plenty of stories and campaigners who have warned about the detrimental impact of the cuts imposed by the coalition government. The Afiya Trust have been trying to determine whether the cuts have are impacting disproportionately on BME families and voluntary and community groups. They approached all 153 local authorities under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, requesting details of cuts to BME services and communities in 2010/11 and 2011/12.

Over 75 per cent of local authorities responded to the request and it was found that the overall funding for BME voluntary and community sector organisations was down, with the biggest cuts occurring in London. Around £3 million was cut to BME organisations in social care funding in 2010/11, half of that in London.

The Afiya Trust are set to publish a full report on their findings later this summer but already they have built a picture which shows some evidence of cuts negatively impacting on the BME community.

Follow the campaign on Twitter @litm_campaign or visit the website http://livinginthemargins.org/ for more information