Laura is a social, cultural and historical geographer who is interested in geographies of disability, home, care, volunteering and the voluntary sector.
She is currently researching volunteering through the ESRC rapid response Covid-19 funded project, ‘Mobilising Voluntary Action in the four UK jurisdictions: learning from today, prepared for tomorrow’. The project reviews, analyses and evaluates the state-and non-state supported volunteer responses to the crisis in collaboration with academics and practitioners from the four UK nations. The research is informing understandings of the role of the sector in our national recovery.
For her doctoral research Laura studied Le Court Cheshire Home utilising material from the Leonard Cheshire charity archive in Derbyshire. Le Court Cheshire Home was the first in a series of residential care homes designed for young disabled adults. The thesis explored resident representation in the homes, and considered the contribution of the residents to shaping narratives about disability in wider society.