In most situations you just don't walk into a HUD home like that , there's months, yrs on a list trying to find something. While still trying to verify an address being homeless to even collect a food card. In any government system there is going to be abuse of said system. The people you know are lucky. Most are already in a dysfunctional single parent home. Many only wish they could pay their own way and further their education like yourself. Your statement is that stigma they face . I've been there , blocks of cheese powdered milk . Watching my mother kill herself at three jobs just to meet the reduced rent .The government wasn't paying our bills just giving us a break on the rent. We hated it. It was our dirty little secret. Empathy is a rare commodity these days . It's always what about me. Trust me it's no road you'd want to go down .