27 November – 1 December is Estranged Students Solidarity Week. The campaign is led by Stand Alone to raise awareness that not everyone has the support of parents or family members whilst at University. This week we want to highlight the extra support available to estranged students and link to resources that can help support you be an ally to estranged students.
What we mean by estranged is students who are studying without the support of a family network, which is usually due to a long-term breakdown in the relationship with their parents or guardians.
How can you support?
Whether you know someone who has experienced estrangement or not, you can still become an ally. There are lots of ways you can make a difference, such as normalising it and talking about it more and thinking about the language you use. Have a look Stand Alone’s Top Tips for Students.
Additional support from the University
As part of the University’s plans to enhance the support offered to students who are estranged from their families and the University’s commitment to the Stand Alone pledge, we have enhanced support available to UK Undergraduate Students who are estranged. This includes the support of a named contact, financial support and the chance to meet other independent students.
Jabeen Akram from the central Student Support and Wellbeing team is the named contact for independent students at the university and will soon be joined by another named contact. Jabeen can be contacted on independentstudents@manchester.ac.uk if you have any questions about what support you might be eligible for.
Check out this article on being estranged in December or find more information about how we are supporting estranged students on our tailored support page.