Have you cut or lost contact with your family?
Are you studying without support from a family network?
Are you distanced from your family?
Have you been in care?
Are you LGBTQI+ and your family are struggling to accept you?
If so, then you might want to find out more about Stand Alone.
What is Stand Alone?
Stand Alone is a charity that offers support for people who are estranged from their families.
Support groups
Stand Alone run independent specialised support services for adults living in estrangement from their whole family, parent(s) or siblings.
Family estrangement can be difficult to talk about and many adults who have become estranged or disowned choose to conceal their experiences from others.
Stand Alone’s support groups aim to provide a non-judgmental space where you can share your thoughts and experiences with others in a similar position.
Together with a specialist counsellor, your group will work through themes relating to adult family relationship breakdown over 6 sessions, such as:
- Coping with Christmas
- Mothers Day and Fathers Day
- The living loss: grieving and acceptance
- Trusting other people
- Reconciliation
- How can I explain?
If you are interested, please send an email with your contact details to sheffield@standalone.org.uk and they will send you a registration form.
Information and Advice Guides
Stand Alone also produce a range of useful guides for estranged people, including some specifically for students who are trying to apply to Student Finance England (or equivalent funding body) as an independent student.
The Student Finance Guide – will give you information about how your Student Finance application is assessed as an estranged student. It will tell you about the supporting documents that you will need to send to Student Finance England, Wales and Northern Ireland to confirm your irreconcilable estrangement from your family.
Need help from the University?
Remember there is a wide range of support services within the university that all students can access if they need help. Staff can support you with everything from course issues to finances, placement advice to childcare, from getting help to develop your academic skills to finding part time work.
Find out more at http://www.shu.ac.uk/currentstudents/support/ or contact your nearest Student Services Centre:
Level 5, Owen Building, City Campus (0114 225 3813)
Level 0, Heart of the Campus, Collegiate Crescent (0114 225 2491)
Email guidance@shu.ac.uk