Photography exhibition shows how university gave estranged students a new home

A new photography exhibition at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) will show how higher education has helped estranged students find a new home.

The display will feature portraits of 12 students from across the UK, each of which has been in care or has a permanent lack of contact with their parents.

The pictures show the real rooms and lives of each of the students, giving a sense of how they have created a home for themselves since coming to university.

Called ‘This is Home’ the series has been developed in partnership with the Unite Foundation, a charity run by accommodation provider Unite which providing accommodation scholarships for care leavers and estranged young people.

The portraits are supported by a commentary from each young person, highlighting what ‘home’ means to them and how the Unite Foundation have supported them on their university journey.

The exhibition opens with an event at 5pm on Monday 20 February and runs until 25 February. It will be free and open to the public.

DMU has worked closely with the Unite Foundation scholarship team to support care leavers and estranged students. There have been over 400 scholarships awarded to students across the UK and currently six students at DMU are benefiting from the additional support from the foundation.

DMU's Transitions team, based in Student and Academic Support Services, works with care leavers and estranged students at DMU, providing a range of advice and support to students during their studies including additional financial support, assistance with holiday accommodation and a range of other support.

Louise Wells, transitions officer at DMU, said she hoped the exhibition would encourage conversations and a better understanding of the support needs of students experiencing additional challenges at university.

She said: “ Coming to university is a new challenge for many young people, but imagine taking on that challenge without family support, this is why the scholarship support is so important, all students deserve the opportunity to succeed on their higher education journey”