I honestly think your situation is probably more common than the one in the article.
I knew a few people in a similar situation to yours, where they could not rely on parental support after turning 18, but they were not considered legally emancipated before that point so FAFSA wasn't giving them any grants. The one kid I knew who has actually homeless due to parents kicking him out in high school, did get legally emancipated and was able to qualify for FAFSA, but it was a huge pain.
The people I knew in this situation mostly ended up working some job, going to community college and transferring into a state school or getting a cert for a different career path from community college.
This is a common situation, I've known several people that ended up in it, myself included. Most of them ended up dropping out of college because working 40-50 hours per week at the same time as taking a full course load at university is a surefire recipe for burnout. It also makes for a pretty poor college experience generally. You can spread it out over more years by going part-time but that has its own costs.
It really is a very disadvantageous position to be in.
To add to this, a good friend of mine had her sister adopt her as guardian when applying for aid. A messy parental divorce made financial paperwork nearly impossible to file, not to mention that even if it was filed her father wouldn't contribute anything.
That scenario, an estranged parent who refuses to pay any of their "contribution", is unfortunately really common.
I knew a few people in a similar situation to yours, where they could not rely on parental support after turning 18, but they were not considered legally emancipated before that point so FAFSA wasn't giving them any grants. The one kid I knew who has actually homeless due to parents kicking him out in high school, did get legally emancipated and was able to qualify for FAFSA, but it was a huge pain.
The people I knew in this situation mostly ended up working some job, going to community college and transferring into a state school or getting a cert for a different career path from community college.