Definitely not a fun place to find oneself in, for sure.

Don't know about dining halls on the campus where you are, but the ones at the University I work at are so expensive that most of us that work here can't even afford to eat there more than once a week, so I don't know how students on their limited budgets even begin to afford it.

It took me a long time to work my way back up from the bottom to some semblance of normalcy, but when I crashed and burned, I started out working 3rd shift at a convenience store for minimum wage.

It freed me up during the day to focus on my mental health and recovery process, relying on county services when insurance wasn't an option.

For me, shelter always came first regardless of what else I could or could not afford, and I ate many PBJ's and ramen noodles along the way!

I spent many years at an extended stay hotel which was also kind of expensive but at least I had a place to call "home" until I could get back on my feet enough to re-establish my credit and actually be able to afford a "legitimate" place to live - if you go this route to not make friends with or associate with other guests because a lot of illegal stuff goes on there and you don't want to get caught up in any of that!

Sometimes we have to be in some sketchy situations while we work our way back up to what society considers "normal".

It sucks to be in that boat, but when we have nobody but ourselves to rely on, then it's the best we can do.

With all that being said, I wish I had some better answers for you but hope you find the courage and strength necessary to slog your way through the dismal swamp you find yourself in while finding your way back to solid ground.