I also graduated high school while homeless. I did my homework on my lunch break on the night shift I worked after school - so I could afford to take 3 showers a week at a truck stop near the school and use the laundromat. After I graduated, I got a second job and my first apartment. I've never taken a dime of public assistance.
NOT ONE PENNY
You can't understand how anyone with impoverished ancestry could possibly be able to rise above adversity. So let me explain it to you.
Don't be let yourself be a victim, and most importantly - don't allow anyone to demand that you be a victim. As my favorite poet wrote - "Hold your head above the crowd and they won't bring you down"
I'm not a victim. It's sad that being a victim is your goal.