Why Equality Matters

What would global wealth equality look like?

What would it be like if every human received the same salary on earth?

If wealth inequality didn’t exist, if somehow wealth were perfectly distributed among every adult on earth, every person would have a salary of approximately £40,000 to their name.

Think about that.

There is enough wealth on this planet to comfortably sustain every single human. And yet, there are currently 795 million people in chronic hunger. That’s 1 in 9 people going to bed hungry tonight.

Equality matters.

It matters for our economy. It matters for our communities. It matters for the lives of individuals who have been left in desolate situations.

If we wish to see the world become a better place, we must be willing to be the change we long to see.

If we wish to eradicate the social problems that plague our world, we must first learn how to give what we have to those in need right on our doorstep.

Mother Teresa said: “If you can’t feed a hundred people, then just feed one”.

Change begins when we turn our focus to the one who needs our help.

That one person could be right in front of you. It could be that person you see everyday on the bus who carries their belongings in a plastic bag. It could be that person sitting on the side of the street who you walk past on your daily commute.

That one person matters. Why? Because we are all equal.

Now this doesn’t mean to say that we are not unique. Every human has a distinctly unique life to the person next to them. One of our key beliefs that really kicked off OutsideIn is that everyone has a unique story that deserves to be heard.

We are all incredibly unique, but hold equal worth.

For us, our “Wear One Share One” concept will always be at the heart of our business, but we are embracing new, exciting ways to eradicate homelessness and poverty through our brand.

In a world that is rooted in prejudice, injustice, and unnecessary poverty, OutsideIn want to bring equality. That’s why we’ve released our new ALL = collection.

This is not just a new collection of products, it’s much, much more.

We’ve been working with the Welcome Organisation in Belfast to see how we can provide employment for their service users, and we are so excited for what this new adventure has in store.

The Welcome Organisation is a homeless charity located in Belfast that adopt a non-judgemental approach to addressing homelessness issues. They are recognised for accepting people where they are at as opposed to where others think they should be.
 
We got chatting to Sandra Moore, the director of the charity, who told us that many of the men and women who come to the Welcome Organisation have complex and multiple needs, including severe and enduring difficulties with physical and mental health and substance use. Providing high levels of support is therefore an essential part of what they do.

We are thrilled that we get to team up with them to make a monumental difference in the lives they seek to help. With every ALL = beanie and t-shirt, 50% of the cost will go towards providing manufacturing machines and training for someone who is homeless to make our products.

We can’t wait to get started, and here’s why.

Firstly, we will be able to provide a steady financial income to someone transitioning out of homelessness.

Getting a job when you don’t have a postcode is incredibly difficult, so we want to offer someone the chance to have their lives transformed and built back up again.
We believe they deserve to have the same opportunities to live a full life like everyone else.

Secondly, having a job creates a sense of purpose to someone’s day. We want to restore confidence back to those who have been told time and time again that they will never amount to anything or that their lives don’t matter. We believe they hold incredible value, and we want to help them reach their full potential.

Thirdly, we want our team at OutsideIn to be made up of people who have overcome homelessness, and know the pain of what it’s like to be on the streets. After all, the only people who fully understand how to help someone living on the streets are the ones who have been there themselves.

We want to see people who have transitioned out of homelessness be able to help people who are still in it. We’re honoured that we get to invite these valued new members to our team.

Lastly, we want to encourage other businesses to use their resources to bring positive impact to our society. There is so much we can offer our world when we work together as a team.

Whether you own a hairdressers, manage a restaurant, run a hotel or work in retail - we would love to hear from you on how you think you could use what you have to bring hope and equality to our cities.

A little can go a long way.

That’s why our ALL = clothing range is so much more than just a new collection.

It’s providing opportunities to restore broken lives, build up confidence in those who have given up hope, encourage other businesses to use their resources to impact the vulnerable lives in our communities, and support the ongoing work of The Welcome Organisation.

We seek to see those statistics of world poverty drop significantly, and it starts with helping the one right in front of you.

Equality matters.

Home or no home, we are all equals.

- Judy Shaw

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