All of Us
The community for estranged and care experienced students across the UK.
Find friends who get it and allies to organise with.
The Community Vibe
Everyone is welcome and you’re free to be your most authentic self. We don’t believe in judgement and kindness is a strength.
Everyone is an equal member of the community. We’re united by our flag; co-designed by estranged and care experienced students, the colours represent our diverse and dynamic community and are flanked by the symbol of equality.
Click here to download and print your own flag.
We’re here for each other, to keep each other afloat in what can sometimes feel like testing times. We point each other in the right direction when we need help or information, and when we need to, we rise to the top to fight for what’s right for all of us.
We’re here for JOY and optimism; from having fun at the smallest of socials to working together to create a future that is bright.
All of Us Online
Join us in our cosy corner of the internet to make new connections, start conversations, share helpful information, arrange or find out about meet ups and more! Anyone who self-identifies as estranged or care experienced, in higher education in the UK can sign up. If you’re not sure if this is you, scroll down and see.
In Real Life
You don’t have to sign up to join All of Us online to be a part of the community, the community exists everywhere!
You can bring All of Us to your uni too, have a look at Muhsina’s #AllOfUsLocal guide for some tips!
We’ll share meet ups and events happening across the country on our Instagram, Twitter and Tik Tok profiles. Check to see what’s happening near you, if you can’t see anything, you could organise something yourself…
Funding for Fun
It’s as good as it sounds! If you’d like to organise a meet up or event for All of Us, the Unite Foundation could help you with funding and support. Click here to read the Unite Foundation’s guidance and then apply here!
Our Identity
Our identity has been created to unite ALL estranged and care experienced students and everyone should feel that they can belong to our community. You might never join the community online, or go to an event or meet up, or get involved in a campaign. That’s ok. Sometimes belonging can just be a feeling.
Whatever belonging looks like to you, we hope that when you see our flag and vibrant visuals out in the wild, you feel seen, supported and part of something bigger (that is growing every day).
Our flag is the symbol that unites us all. It has been co-created with estranged and care experienced students and the colours represent our entire diverse and dynamic community, flanked by the symbol of equality.
Download it, print it, draw it, sew it, knit it, put it on a mug, tee, sweater, bag, make it your profile pic, put it up on your wall or in your window… It’s all yours.
Our identity guidelines are for anyone who wants to create something to show that they are part of our community; find the right colours and fonts and guides to using them so you know that what you create is recognisable as All of Us and visually accessible for everyone.
Download our identity guidelines here.
And our ‘logo’ if you need it is here:
The Sounding Board
If you would like to help shape our community as it continues to grow, you could join the Sounding Board; a group of estranged and care experienced students and recent graduates who feel passionately about the growth of our community and help guide our way. Want to find out more?
Anything you need?
Do you have any questions or suggestions for how you’d like to see our community shape up?
Ira at the Unite Foundation would love to hear from you.
Email ira.hakim@unitefoundation.org.uk.
Do you need stock, or a restock, of promo materials to help spread the word about All of Us – or to show your support for estranged and care experienced students across the UK?
All of Us Guides
+ All of Us employment tips. A guide by Millicent Wenlock, leader of the All of Us employment group.
+ #AllOfUsLocal. A heartfelt guide to empowering estranged and care experienced students, and SU / council officers to create local communities and sociable, safe spaces
+ Guide for Our Loved Ones is an accessible guide that estranged and/or care-experienced students could share with their loved ones (close friends, romantic partners, etc) to help explain to them what it is like being an estranged or care-experienced student.
Helpful links A-Z
+ The Alliance for Care Experienced People in Higher Education is a project by care experienced people for care experienced people in Higher Education.
+Buttle UK: Individually tailored grants of up to £2,200 for children and young people who have experienced a crisis that has recently had a significant and enduring impact on their wellbeing and educational engagement.
+ Coram Voice will help you with any questions if you are in care, leaving care, have or need a social worker. They have an advocacy helpline – Call: 0808 800 5792
+ Crisis Homeless helpline: Information on how and where to get help if you’re homeless or are at risk of becoming homeless.
+ Displaced Student Opportunities has study opportunities to support refugees and people seeking asylum in the UK to access university.
+ Helplines Partnership: ‘Find a Helpline directory’ lists dozens of approved members of Helplines Partnership providing support via various different channels, so you can find one that suits you.
+ The EaCES Handbook is written by estranged and care experienced students (EaCES) to bring together information and advice to help others – including their own experiences and practical tips. They also have several pages on their website on both the support available and meeting other people from a similar background.
+ r/EstrangedAdultChild is a community for adult children where a conscious decision to estrange from parents has been made. They state that estrangement primarily occurs when there is physical/emotional abuse, differing expectations about family roles, neglect and clashes based on personalities or value systems. (Parents of Estranged Adult Children are not welcome to participate in this sub.)
+ The Mix – Essential support for under 25s: Free helpline, chat and crisis support, including information on housing, money and mental health.
+ From Us to Us – A collection of advice from care-experienced graduates to care-experienced graduates. Edited by Dr Zoe Baker.
+ NewGrad have a private Facebook group exclusive to estranged students & graduates.
+ Propel is a website created by Become for care experienced people providing information on the support available to you at colleges and universities across the U.K.
+ Rees Foundation’s Uni:Fy is a virtual community of care experienced people, of all ages, who also share the experience of University Life.
+ Stand Alone is a national charity that supports estranged adults and has a section of their website for students. They also run support groups for estranged adults.
+ The Unite Foundation scholarship, provides estranged and care experienced students with free accommodation and bills covered for up to 3 years at university.
+ This Is Us is care experienced and estranged students on the Unite Foundation scholarship, campaigning for the provision of a free #HomeAtUniversity for all estranged and care experienced students. Twitter @ThisIsUsAtUni), Instagram @thisisusatuni) + TikTok @thisisusatuni)
+ This Is Us podcast is created by and for care experienced and estranged students (but a great listen for anyone). Presented by Unite Foundation graduate Paige Mackenzie.
+ Together Estranged is an international peer-support group that aims is to support and empower those estranged from family. ‘We empower people who’ve lost family relationships due to childhood trauma, abuse, lack of acceptance for being LGBTQ+ and more, promoting their strength and inner healing.’
+ UCAS pages on Estranged Students and Care Leavers/Care Experienced Students
+ Who Cares? Scotland is a national voluntary organisation, working with care experienced young people and care leavers across Scotland.
Is this the community for you?
This is a community for anyone who self-identifies as estranged or care experienced, in higher education in the UK.
The term care-experienced refers to anyone who has been or is currently in care or from a looked-after background at any stage in their life, no matter how short, this includes those who have been in kinship care arrangements and adopted children who were previously looked-after. Generally, estrangement means you have little or no contact with your parents (either biological or adoptive) and this is unlikely to change.