City Cares: Estranged students share their stories of overcoming adversity to build bright futures

When Ashkan was just 20, he escaped persecution in Iran and arrived in the UK alone in 2018.

Living in shared accommodation in Hull, Ashkan had left everything he knew behind and struggled to adapt to his new life.

While he joined his local church and slowly started to rebuild his life, Ashkan still yearned to pursue his education as it had come to a screeching halt back in Iran. But understanding how his qualifications from home translated to the UK education system proved difficult.

“Finding information about education was the hardest thing,” said Ashkan. His Iranian qualifications were the equivalent to nine A-levels and as the eldest child in his family, Ashkan said he was encouraged to excel in his studies and be a good role model for his siblings.

“I went to a highly selective school in Iran and I like studying and being challenged. I excelled in maths and physics. I didn’t want to re-sit all my exams again; I wanted to go to university.”

With the advice of his social worker in Hull, Ashkan’s friend helped him to get his qualifications officially translated in Iran and he began to apply to universities.

He was accepted onto a Business Management BSc at Bayes Business School. Moving in temporarily with a contact he made through his church in Hull, Ashkan began his journey at City St George’s, University of London.

After enrolling, he found out about City Cares – the University’s dedicated support programme for students who are care-experienced, young adult carers, estranged students and asylum seekers.

In higher education, the term ‘estranged’ applies to students who are not communicating with either of their parents. Estranged people can also include refugee students and asylum seekers.

“CityCares became my first point of contact for any non-academic questions I had about university life,” said Ashkan, who was classed as an estranged student and received the City Cares bursary which enabled him to move into alternative accommodation.

“But my most serious connection with City Cares started this year,” he said.

Ashkan re-sat some of his second-year exams which caused a delay in his studies. As a result, his leave-to-remain status came to an end during term time in his final year. He therefore did not qualify for maintenance and tuition loans for the last year of his studies and faced the possibility of being unable to finish his degree.

City Cares reached out to a refugee organisation that intervened within a couple of days. “It was like a wave of calm washed over me; I had someone at university who understood my will to continue studying but also my frustrations with the system. I was so grateful.”

Now in his final year, Ashkan said he does not want his university experience to come to an end. “I love studying at City St George’s,” he said. “I don’t want it to finish. I love the supportive environment, and I like being exposed to this quality of academia.”

Another Bayes Business School student who has accessed support from City Cares is Diego*, an estranged student in his final year of an Investment and Risk Management degree.

“Even before I came out as gay, I was the black sheep of my family, given curfews and never allowed any freedom. I was constantly finding myself in trouble and for the first 14 years of my life, I was abused emotionally and physically,” he said.

“I knew that I needed to leave and make my own way in life. This was absolutely the right decision. But it still caused painful difficulties and hardship.

“I found myself homeless between A-levels and university, at first relying upon friends and couch-surfing, and then eventually having to turn to a homeless shelter for accommodation.”

“When I started at City, I had little money and continued to go hungry so I could afford to travel to class. My thinking was that ‘I’ve survived worse.’ My zero-hour contract didn’t go very far.”

Diego said finding suitable accommodation was difficult and that learning about City Cares and the support on offer was a lifeline.

Diego said he hopes to secure a role in a graduate scheme and his dream role would be working in asset or risk management for a large firm.

City Cares

Michel Salamouni, City Cares Adviser, said:

“While we do support other groups of students, we often end up spending most of our time supporting estranged students as they receive no other institutional or statutory support.

“Students have described the financial support provided by City Cares as life-saving for this reason.

“We have a lot of cases where the estrangement is happening while the student is studying. City Cares helps students find alternative accommodation if they need to leave their family home to escape maltreatment”

Michel explained that it is common for students to become estranged when they go to university as there is a new level of support available and students are entering adulthood. These factors can provide the opportunity for students to flee abusive households.

“There have been many success stories through City Cares as our support can really change students’ lives. We get feedback from students saying that without City Cares they would not have been able to finish their studies.”

Estranged Students Solidarity Week

This week (November 25- December 1) is Estranged Students Solidarity Week – a national campaign for universities, colleges, students’ unions and education organisations. Established by Stand Alone in 2017, the aim of the week is to raise awareness of the struggles which estranged students—i.e. students studying without parental support—face, as well as the support available.

*Some names have been changed to protect the privacy of individuals

Find out more about City Cares and the support on offer at City St George’s, University of London.

The University’s Annual Fund and generous alumni and friends of City St George’s help fund City Cares and the vital support it offers students.

Resources

Samaritans

When life is difficult, Samaritans are here – day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email them at jo@samaritans.org, or visit samaritans.org to find your nearest branch.

Student Support

If you are student and you have been affected by the topics mentioned in this story, you can find support available below:

Support services here to help you at City

• Student Adviser team
• Student Health & Wellbeing
• Chaplaincy team
• Union Support Service (Students' Union)

Each School also has its own Student Welfare team who you can reach out to through Support@City.