Solution-Focused Comics Helping The Long Term Unemployed

The ABC Comic Project helps long-term unemployed participants explore and uncover possible routes to employment or training through comic creation and solution-focused storytelling.

Created for Neighbourhoods That Work, a 5 year multi-agency project in Gt Yarmouth designed to improve community resilience, the ABC comic workshops demonstrate skills and techniques used by professionals to create amazing comic book stories and artwork whilst exploring the participants career & training options.

Aims and goals of the workshop

Using storytelling and comic drawing to explore and discuss each step on their journey with the workshop leader or others in the group could help uncover possible routes to your personal goals that could go undiscovered.

Using simple fill-in-the gaps worksheets we will create rough text and artwork for your comic panels – first focusing on describing your situation right now (the “Beginning” of your story), then we’ll leap forward to where you’d like to see yourself in the future (the “End” of your story).

Once you’ve chosen the Beginning and End of your story of the way we can focus on the most important bit – the middle of the comic!

The middle bit will describe a possible journey towards the story’s end – each panel showing a separate step towards fulfilling your final goal.

At the end of the workshop participants take away a few things;

  1. A clearer idea of what your own personal goals might be
  2. A better idea of how you might achieve those goals through simple, thought out steps
  3. A pretty cool piece of finished comic book artwork

Could creating comics help your organisation?

Comics are an amazing, accessible tool for:

  • Sharing stories and experiences
  • Exploring problems and issues
  • Having fun and boosting confidence!

Creating comics could be a valuable, enjoyable tool for your organisation – if you’d like to explore the possibilites get in touch!