I need a short term solution to homelessness of a four person family (2 adults, 2 children) in the Los Angeles area?

chasethecarrot are you willing to go public with your identity and let people know that USC is willing to let a student family live in a car? Because there ARE alumni who are in a position to help, but they have to know who you are a) for you to be credible and b) in order to help you.

you say you don't want to ""Sophie's Choice" my kids for who has to sleep in the car!" and i get that as a reaction - but refusing to make that choice means that both of your kids and you and your fiance are sleeping in the car. if you solve the issue for half of you, other solutions might present themselves. at the very least, if you put 2 of you in a shelter, then you will be there when another spot opens up, building up relationships with the staff so that spot goes to your other child. this will also add some stability and the ability to do your studies and shower. it will also make the car less cramped.

I can't help w/ the homeless part but I wanted to tell you there is no reason for you to feel ashamed. What you just described in your question obviously reflects an incredible amount of strength and tenacity, enough that you should never feel ashamed of yourself no matter what.

In that case, cut your losses and leave the university. Go back to where you can have a slight support from your relatives until you can start making ends meet. You can always return to finish your education at a later date but continuing to try and get a degree that has no guarantee of a happy rainbow ending is too great of a risk.

Contact the http://dailytrojan.com/feedback/ at USC and tell your story - like DarlingBri said, there are plenty of people that can and will help.

I want to give a counterpoint to the comments which can be construed as suggesting that it might be better for chasethecarrot's kids if she were to give up her educational goals. It might be, but that hasn't been my experience as the daughter of a non-traditional student. This doesn't answer the actual question asked, but I worry that chasethecarrot will get discouraged and depressed about her choice to pursue a bachelor's degree reading this thread, on top of her other more immediate problems. I know how much my mother has questioned herself about if her pursuit of higher ed was too selfish, at least. Some of the comments in this thread would certainly have stirred my mother's guilt, as they would combine in her mind with all the other admonitions she got over her life about being a good mother. My experience refutes this. My mother going back to college was absolutely the best thing that happened to our family, and was strongly positive for me (her daughter) in particular. My mother went back to school after all kids were in grade school full-time. It took her six years to finish her bachelor's degree (there was some getting back into the swing of things after being away from school for 10+ years, there was some waiting to be eligible for in-state tuition after moving, there was some not taking quite a full course load because of work), and then she went on and got a PhD. Back in the early '90s, family student housing at the state university that she was at was highly subsidized, which helped *a lot* when my mother was a grad student (getting paid at least, but a minimal grad student salary) and my father was only able to find work about half the time. Before that, my father had regular work, so my mother only had to take out some loans to pay for tuition. Which was reasonable at a state university back in the 80s. Universities are very different now. Campus housing is seen as a revenue stream, not as a service to help level the playing field for students with families or students from less economically advantaged backgrounds. And tuition is through the roof, even at public universities. chasethecarrott, you have a lot more challenges than my mother faced, and I'm not near the LA area, and am sorry I can't contribute useful suggestions for your immediate problem. But (to reiterate - but it's important!) my mother going back to school was the best thing that happened to our family. We were always housed and fed, so a bit better of a situation; but we spent a lot of time being among the poorer kids in our school, with attendant social pressure. Despite that, it was worth it. So yeah, keeping your kids safe is crucial, but you and your fiance are looking for jobs already, and having trouble finding work because the economy is broken, so it's not clear to me that you putting off college will help much with that. Although I think the suggestions about some other schools that are equally good academically but more supportive of non-traditional students are a very good idea to look into. Colleges and universities vary *a lot* when it comes to provision of financial aid. Look for one with a strong need-based financial aid program; and programs like the ones mentioned at Smith and Mt. Holyoke will make a significant difference. To return to my point, why was it worth it? My parents are not exactly rolling in the money now. Having started a career late, my mother is going to have to work until well past traditional retirement age; my father had a job more so than a career for most of my childhood, had several good years, but got hit by the more recent economic crisis, and just ageism, so his good years contributed to paying off earlier debt rather than building up retirement savings. In all likelihood, I'll be helping to support my parents in their old age. They can pay their bills, but my parents would probably be more financially secure if my mother had actually gotten a little less education, maybe something more focused on job training (eg. the Associates degree in something employable route). Here's why it was still worth it: (i) As a girl, seeing my mother go back to school and pursue her education, and some serious, intellectually challenging education, was some invaluable role modeling for me. Not to mention sitting around as a family and all doing our homework together on the kitchen table. (ii) Yeah, obtaining a bachelor's degree tends to improve family's economic situation, which is definitely very good (financial instability is a significant risk factor for depression and related ills), but that's not, to me, the most valuable thing about higher ed. Ideally, education helps you develop and come to better know yourself as a person. One has to be careful about particular schools and programs. I was just reading an article about how racialized students can become tracked toward incarceration in grade schools, for example. Finding a program and a college/university that will be supportive of your educational needs and goals is very important, and I think my mother's experience would have been not nearly as positive (for her or for the rest of the family) if she hadn't attended schools with strong support for non-traditional students, working class students (that's one of the advantages of state universities), and female students (my family is white, but throw in strong support for students from your ethnic/racial background or anything else applicable). (Are you getting this sort of acceptance and support within your program at USC, apart from the lack of adequate financial support? If not, definitely look into one of the other colleges suggested above!) But as it was, my mother learned many things about herself, increased her self-confidence, and re-evaluated her role in our family and in society. This was a little rough at times as my father also had to do some corresponding re-evaluation, but was ultimately good for him as well I think. We certainly ended up developing much better communication skills as a family, for example. Seeing my mother do this, accomplish this, was, more specifically, what made my mother an invaluable role model for me. It raised my expectations for what I was entitled to expect out of life. It's what got me to where I am today: a relatively fulfilled human being, and financially secure (enough that helping support my parents in their old age won't be an excessive burden, at least). And seeing my parents work out their changing roles was invaluable in helping me think fully about what I'm entitled to expect from a partner in a relationship. In short, my mother's pursuit of higher ed has helped to make me a better person, a happier person, and a person who is able to confidently and effectively stick up for myself and others. (ii) The experience that my mother gained in navigating bureaucracies and such has enabled her to give me much helpful advice that made my own path through higher ed, following her, much easier. (iv) My mother already had "cultural capital" beyond our family's economic status when I was a little tyke, which helped a lot for our early childhood education. The additional cultural knowledge that all of us in my family picked up as my mother progressed through her education has helped me to be able to be accepted in a variety of socio-economic contexts, as well. The US is highly class-stratified despite myths to the contrary, and the cultural norms that you pick up at a private college/university are definitely upper middle class, so this has been helpful for me in obtaining jobs and such. The fact that my parents never turned their backs on their working class roots, instilled an understanding of class dynamics and a class consciousness in me (though perhaps by accident more than intent), and that I remember at least a part of that from my childhood (I was way too young to remember when we were on food stamps in my toddlerhood, but remember some cultural impressions from that time), has given me a context for understanding why I haven't always felt like I "belonged" despite being able to pass just fine as upper middle class in non-economic respects (and nowadays economically as well), and has helped me stay grounded and keep my sanity and sense of self through my education. Being able to talk about class issues in education with my mother has been really helpful as well. (I can recommend readings on this topic; memail me if you're interested.) ---------- In other advice that also doesn't answer your question but may(?) be helpful mental-health wise: you do have a lot of immediate challenges for your family. Maybe taking a semester or a year off would help. I definitely second the comments recommending that you look into some other programs that would be more supportive of non-traditional students. Your current situational difficulties are absolutely not the end of the world for your scholarship prospects and your college education, however. Talk with your campus counseling center and make sure you can get Ws instead of Fs in classes that have been affected by your living situation so far. If/when you apply to other colleges, you will have a very compelling application essay to write about your experiences so far. Definitely include an explanatory note with your USC transcript if you do apply elsewhere, or have to apply for other scholarships. Eg. something along the lines of the following in a cover letter: "I feel that my grades this past [year] do not adequately reflect my academic potential. I was facing a number of very serious non-academic challenges. [briefly describe in two or three sentences]. My performance at [community college] is more typical of my work output and academic potential. [some closing sentence indicating that they should ask you for more information (eg. supporting documentation)]." Your immediate situation is, well, it's high pressure from a needing for find housing and food standpoint, but it's not as high pressure from your prospects for future education standpoint. And I believe that you are doing the right thing for your children!

And I'm so sorry if this is incredibly stupid as an idea, but doesn't USC have a School of Social Work. They must have smart and resourceful professors w/ an understanding of how to help you guys. Also, if you have to drop out, do it and apply to smaller colleges in less expensive areas that have a reputation for helping non traditional female students earn their BAs. I highly recommend the programs at Smith and Mount Holyoke. The tend to provide a more supportive environment and the non traditional students are respected by the administration, faculty, and traditional undergrads. And after hearing what the president said to you, USC is dirt in my book. They have a social work program there, and they don't even refer you anywhere? That's so low of them.

Surely the USC http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/Health_Center/counseling/ department can provide some sort of help with your situation?

A few years back there was a blog called "Homeless at NYU." A student couldn't get enough financial aid to dorm, started living in the school library, and blogged about his life. When the blogger started getting mainstream press coverage and the university caught wind of his story, they arranged free housing for him for the rest of the semester. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/04/27/nyregion/yes-some-students-live-in-the-library-but-not-like-this.html Do you have documentation of your dealings with USC? If you do, would you feel comfortable approaching local media outlets and trying to get some resolution that way? I cannot imagine USC wants to be in the news for turning its back on a student in your situation.