While the rich get richer and the poor get poorer, we’ve got to do what we can.

Whether that’s shouting about injustice, or helping those who need it, here are the positive actions we can take right now.


Click any of the images to see them at a larger size.

Image by Beth Dawson - part of the DrawTheLine project at www.drawthelinecomics.com

PAY WELL

Fair pay means giving employees a wage that covers a basic standard of living with some extra to account for unexpected costs or to go towards building a more secure future.

The Living Wage Foundation say: “In low paid sectors a vicious cycle of high levels of staff turnover and absenteeism can drive problems of operational inefficiency, low standards and weak productivity that hit the bottom line.”

If you employ staff, consider joining companies like Brewdog and Oliver Bonas which pay the real living wage. You’ll bring a piece of mind to your workforce. You’ll nurture happier, more engaged workers who’ll stick around. And you’ll reflect fair values back into your business

Links to find out more

Image by Beth Dawson


 

Image by Myfanwy Tristram - part of the DrawTheLine project at www.drawthelinecomics.com

ESCHEW THE NEW

 

Buy second hand. You’ll be benefiting a charity if it’s from a thrift store, or helping out the seller if you buy direct.

 

Either way, you’ll be circumventing big business and shrinking your carbon footprint.

Links to find out more

Image by Myfanwy Tristram


 

Image by Jenny Drew - part of the DrawTheLine project at www.drawthelinecomics.com

SHARE YOUR SKILLS

 

Run a workshop to share your practical knowledge, whether that’s about cooking, gardening, bike repair, plumbing…or anything else that will help people save money.

 

Links to find out more

Image by Jenny Drew


 

Image by Joe Decie - part of the DrawTheLine project at www.drawthelinecomics.com

PART-OWN YOUR STUFF

When every house in the street has their own electric drill, laminator, or anything else that you might only use a couple of times a year, it only benefits one thing — capitalism!

Let’s save some money, make friends amongst our neighbours, and do a bit of good for the environment by starting a sharing group. If that goes well, you could work up to sharing bigger things, like cars…

Links to find out more

Image by Joe Decie


 

Image by Kirsty Hunter - part of the DrawTheLine project at www.drawthelinecomics.com

BREAK THE CARTELS

London People’s Energy are campaigning for a publicly-owned energy company: “We want a new public company that cuts bills and cuts polluting carbon emissions. A non-profit company with social justice, clean energy and democracy at its core.”

You can do the same — and not just with energy, either. How about truly public transport, banks, or mobile phones for the people?

Links to find out more

Image by Kirsty Hunter


 

Image by Simon Russell - part of the DrawTheLine project at www.drawthelinecomics.com

PUT THE PRESSURE ON

Tell your MP or other representative what you expect them to do about the issues that matter to you. And keep telling them.

 

You might get a pat, generic response: that’s not good enough, and you should write back to tell them so. Otherwise, how will they know? It’s our job to hold our representatives to account.

Links to find out more

Image by Simon Russell


 

Image by Emmi Bat - part of the DrawTheLine project at www.drawthelinecomics.com

SPEND WISELY

Read up on the places where you spend your money: do they pay their workers a living wage? Do they support sweatshops or child labour? Do they fund the weapons industry or finance a political party that you disagree with?

Many apps and websites can help you. Shopping with local independent businesses can also help you avoid many of the big, bad brands.

Links to find out more

Image by Emmi Bat


 

Image by Laura Sorvala - part of the DrawTheLine project at www.drawthelinecomics.com

START A CLUB

Casserole clubs are an Aussie concept: volunteers share extra portions of home-cooked food with people in their area who aren’t always able to cook for themselves — the elderly, the disabled, the lonely. Cooks share once a week, once a month, or whenever works best for them.

Links to find out more

Image by Laura Sorvala


 

Image by Zara Slattery - part of the DrawTheLine project at www.drawthelinecomics.com

PLANT RADICAL ROOTS

Start a community gardening project where everyone reaps what you sow together.

You’re growing cheap, healthy food, and at the same time, creating friendships, getting fresh air and exercise, improving mental health, and reducing the amount of fruit and veg that needs to travel half way round the world.

Links to find out more

Image by Zara Slattery

 

Image by Riyadh Rateme - part of the DrawTheLine project at www.drawthelinecomics.com

STOP THE ROT

Ask your local restaurants to donate their leftover food to the homeless — or like this bagel shop, turn it into beer!

Better still, see if there’s a set-up like the Real Junk Food Project which will collect waste food and turn it into meals for those who need it.

Links to find out more

Image by Riyadh Rateme


 

Image by Jaime Huxtable - part of the DrawTheLine project at www.drawthelinecomics.com

BUILD A WALL OF KINDNESS

While Donald Trump was first talking about his divisive wall, the concept of a “Wall of Kindness” was blossoming in Iran.

Stretches of wall are painted and furnished with pegs. Then, people hang clothes, food and and goods that they no longer need for the homeless or poor to take.

The concept is spreading: several UK towns currently feature their very own walls of kindness (in the case of Brighton, it’s a seafront shelter of kindness…)

Links to find out more

 

Image by Jaime Huxtable


 

Image by Woodrow Phoenix - part of the DrawTheLine project at www.drawthelinecomics.com

SEE PEOPLE AS PEOPLE

The charity Streets of London say that we must “challenge the perception that homeless people are any different from the rest of us. Homelessness begins when something bad happens and you don’t have family or friends around to help. It could happen to any of us.”

 

The same logic can be applied across many sectors of society: they may be temporarily disadvantaged, but they are people.

Links to find out more

Image by Woodrow Phoenix


 

Image by Wallis Eates - part of the DrawTheLine project at www.drawthelinecomics.com

EMPLOY THE LESS EMPLOYABLE

Could you give a job to someone who would find it hard to secure work elsewhere?

Consider recruiting from groups such as ex-convicts – giving them less reason to return to a life of crime – or those with autism, learning difficulties or disabilities, allowing them a chance for paid work that few others may offer.

Links to find out more

Image by Wallis Eates


 

Image by Jeroen Janssen - part of the DrawTheLine project at www.drawthelinecomics.com

CHANGE YOUR BUSINESS MODEL

In Madrid, one restaurant charges its customers during the day, and uses the profits to feed the homeless in the evening.

Links to find out more

Image by Jeroen Janssen


 

Image by Jessica Trevino - part of the DrawTheLine project at www.drawthelinecomics.com

TELL STORIES

If you’re a great yarn-spinner, tell the first person stories that show the human side of the big issues. They really go straight to the heart.

If you’ve got skills in writing, video or radio, so much the better — and if you haven’t, what better time to learn them?

Links to find out more

Image by Jessica Trevino


 

Image by Sousa Machado Arts - part of the DrawTheLine project at www.drawthelinecomics.com

BEAR WITNESS

The work of comic artists like Olivier Kugler and Kate Evans show us that documentary or reportage drawing can be a powerful tool.

As comic artists we might feel that we don’t have much to offer when faced with gross injustices, poverty, or warfare. But we can tell stories, and in a very immediate way.

A way that can change minds, soften hearts, even alter the political discourse.

Image by Sousa Machado Arts


 

Image by Rosa Devine - part of the DrawTheLine project at www.drawthelinecomics.com

STAND UP

People like you don’t stand for election, right? That’s exactly why you should consider it.

When government is dominated by the rich, the privileged, the male, or other dominant groups, legislation tends to favour those people. We owe it to our own communities to represent them in local and national politics.

Links to find out more

Image by Rosa Devine


 

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