A student is considered homeless if the student lacks fixed, regular, and adequate housing. This is broader than just living "on the street", it includes: living with other people temporarily because the student had nowhere else to go, in substandard housing (meaning it doesn't meet local building codes or the utilities are turned off or is generally not adequate), in emergency or transitional shelters, (trailers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency after disasters), in motels, campgrounds, cars, parks, abandoned buildings, bus or train stations, or any public or private place not designed for humans to live in, and in the school dormitory if the student would otherwise be homeless. 

Categories of homelessness

  • At risk of being homeless: When a student's housing may cease to be fixed, regular, and adequate. For example, a student who is being evicted and has been unable to find fixed, regular, and adequate housing.
  • Homeless: Lacking fixed, regular, and adequate housing.
  • Self-supporting: When a student pays for his or her own living expenses, including fixed, regular, and adequate housing.
  • Unaccompanied: When a student is not living in the physical custody of a parent or guardian.

Fixed, Regular, Adequate Housing definitions

  • Fixed Housing: Stationary, permanent, and not subject to change.
  • Regular Housing: Used on a predictable, routine, or consistent basis.
  • Adequate Housing: Sufficient for meeting both the physical andpsychological needs typically met in the home.

 

If you did not report information about your parents on your FAFSA because you indicated you are homeless, or at risk of homeless, please reach out to our Financial Aid Office. Additional documents and forms may be needed.

If a student cannot answer "yes" to the FAFSA dependency status questions indicating the student is homeless or at risk of being homeless (and has not had a determination made by a high school, a school district homeless liaison, a director of an emergency shelter or transitional housing program, or a director of a runaway or homeless youth basic center or transitional living program), the Financial Aid Office can make the determination. The determination may be based on a documented interview with the student if there is no written documentation available. Please schedule an appointment with our office if you are experiencing homelessness.