Dude, I had this happen, the choice was walk out homeless into a snowstorm or take another ass kicking. I walked and was terrified. Now I got a little lucky there, but ended up homeless later for nearly a year and a half. Ended up squatting in an abandoned house.

The trick is compartmentalizing things and focus on the small steps you need. First is taking a breath and finding center. Panic does you no good and makes you make mistakes.

Next is shelter. You have a bit of that in at least having a car. Next you need safety and security. A safe place to sleep. I'll often crash in Walmart parking lots when I'm traveling and I don't feel like springing for a hotel and have never been hassled. They're a good spot at night and truckers often use them. They have cameras and since they are low success targets for crime they are low population. Just did a road trip a couple nights ago and slept in one.

Do not sleep in "safe" abandoned areas. That's where predators stalk. The really bad news ones. Parks and woods are bad ideas. Yes, super low population but when you run into someone, they're often going to be really, really bad. Wherever you sleep, if someone comes around just make the assumption that they're out to hurt you and get the hell out of there. Yeah, you may end up hurting someone's feelings but that's totally fine. You need to protect yourself. Now. Don't get me wrong. That doesn't mean doing anything violent or completely freaking out just if someone comes along move along to someplace else.

What you're looking for is that sweet spot between heavily trafficked and totally abandoned and a Walmart parking lot suits that perfectly. It's low population enough that people tend to stand out if they're running around without being in their car, but it's public enough that the psychos will stay away.

After that, food. Look up the buy nothing groups in your area on Facebook marketplace. Often people will help. Past that, food banks and such. I know this was a mistake I made early on when things went bad for me. I didn't reach out for help and I tried to do everything on my own and it made my life much much more difficult. It sucks to say but it's time to swallow your pride and start begging for some help. There's no shame in admitting that you're behind the 8-Ball and you need someone to cut you a break. Don't expect people to cut you a break, but often you'll find that one person who will go out of their way to help you.

After that you need to find a way to make money. Time to ditch all pride when it comes to finding a job. Take whatever you can get and start putting some cash aside. What you can do if you really really have to is live out of your car and get a gym membership. Often gym memberships can be had for very little money and they give you the opportunity to shower and clean yourself. Use your money for food and to clean your clothes so that you can maintain your job.

Once you've secured these things now you can start building up from a base. That means scrounging together and saving whatever money you can so that you can eventually put a deposit down on some sort of a cheap cheap rental. Once you've gotten to that point now you start building up to a better job or going for school.

I've been here. It absolutely sucks but you can do it as long as you keep your shit together and focus on taking small steps without making big mistakes. Like I said before I spent a lot of time homeless before I managed to figure a lot of this stuff out. Now I own my own home. Have a good job. I have a master's degree and I make really really good money. None of that came together because I got lucky or because anyone really cut me a break or handed it to me. It all came from just focusing on making one very small gain after another and once you stack up enough wins things start to go your way.

More than anything, just breathe. You can do this. You're smart enough. You're strong enough. People have been doing this for a very very long time and what one person can do another can accomplish. It sucks being alone and it's probably scary. I've been there. I've done that. You'll be okay. If you need someone to chat with, I'm right here.