Communities, COVID and Marcus

摘要

It is clear now that the COVID crisis will be with us for a long time. The new normal is really the perilous present, a long-lasting crisis in which disaster is never far away. The latest episode is the more or less full (minus schools) England lockdown until 2 December. While the best-case scenario may have been COVID then recession, the reality will be COVID and a recession. And of course, we have the Brexit deal to come, too. Navigating all this uncertainty is proving challenging for our Government and overwhelming for all of us. Rebuilding will be tough. Helping people, places and the planet survive and thrive will be a massive effort. But reacting and rebuilding must happen together. And one thing we can be sure of: the sometimes maligned 'do-gooders' who make up civil society will pay a key role in it. Charities, social enterprises, community organisations and all their funders are crucial to getting us through this crisis and creating a better, greener and fairer world on the other side. Charities are fighting to keep getting food on people's tables, sharing company with the lonely, and delivering vital health supplies to vulnerable people shielding from the virus. They are embracing new ways of working, of delivering services and of collaborating that are very new and difficult for them.