A student is considered homeless if they lack fixed, regular, and adequate housing. This is broader than just living “on the street.” It includes but is not limited to:

• youth sharing housing with other people temporarily because they had nowhere else to go;
• youth living in emergency or transitional shelters, for example, trailers provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency after disasters;
• youth living in motels, campgrounds, cars, parks, abandoned buildings, bus or train stations, substandard housing, or any public or private place not designed for humans to live in;
• youth living in the school dormitory if they would otherwise be homeless; and
• youth who are migrants and who qualify as experiencing homelessness because they are living in circumstances described above.

**The documentation for evaluation of your living arrangements must demonstrate that you meet the definition of an independent student. The determination may be based upon a written statement from, or a documented interview with, you that confirms that you are an unaccompanied homeless youth, or unaccompanied, at risk of homelessness, and self-supporting.

Homeless Youth Definitions

• 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.

Housing Status Definitions

• Fixed—stationary, permanent, and not subject to change.
• Regular—used on a predictable, routine, or consistent basis.
• Adequate—sufficient for meeting both the physical and psychological needs typically met in the home.

If you are a dependent student whose parents refuse to provide support, you are not eligible for a dependency override, but may be able to receive a dependent level Direct Unsubsidized Loan only. For a student to be eligible for this provision we must document the following:

• The student’s parents refuse to complete the FAFSA; or
• The student’s parents do not and will not provide any financial support to the student (include the date support ended).

If your parents refuse to sign and date a statement to this effect, you must get documentation from a third party, such as a teacher, counselor, cleric, or court.

Under HEA Sec. 480(d)(9), the FAFSA Simplification Act incorporated additional unusual circumstances to consider when you are unable to contact a parent or where contact with parents poses a risk to you.

Unusual circumstances do include (but are not limited to):

• Human trafficking;
• Legally granted refugee or asylum status;
• Parental abandonment or estrangement; or
• Student or parental incarceration.

In such cases an override might be warranted based upon your individual circumstances. These conditions would also not disqualify you from being a homeless unaccompanied youth or self-supporting and at risk of homelessness.

However, none of the conditions listed below, singly or in combination, qualify as unusual circumstances meriting a dependency override.

Unusual circumstances do not include:

• Parents refuse to contribute to the student’s education.
• Parents will not provide information for the FAFSA or verification.
• Parents do not claim the student as a dependent for income tax purposes.
• Student demonstrates total self-sufficiency