How do adult learners pay for college?

I am currently a CNA in NC. 38 (F) single mother with a 14 (M) child. We live in a rural, economicaly disrtessed area with not many job options within an hour radius.

I completed an associates degree in 2016, but have never been able to find work in my area paying more that $16 an hour with that. As a CNA ive made up to $24 an hour with thay, but have to work full time to pay my bills and have any extra money to fall back on but that extra money isnt much.

I have wanted to go back to nursing school since my son was born. I had to drop out when he was born and immediately start working. Now that he is older I am trying again. I have gotten accepted into 2 LPN programs at my local community colleges and will likely qualify for Pell Grant to pay for it, however the 2 LPN programs within an hour radius of me that I was accepted into are ONLY day classes and clinicals.

I am worried sick about how to pay my bills, rent, power, phone bill, car insurance, car payment, internet bill, groceries, ect and still be able to focus on a program as strenuous as nursing school. Ive talked to other nurses who said they "got loans" to pay their bills during nursing school and they dont regret it, but i cant figure out HOW they did it!

If i could just finish paying my car off that would help tremendously because it is a huge experience but I NEED it. We dont have public transportation here.

Also my job is mon-Fri 9-5 and we dont work weekends, so I need to find something, anything, to work evenings or weekends, but literally NO ONE is hiring CNAs PT or PRN. They want us to work full time right now or they refuse to hire us. They have also started taking our pay rates back to pre covid rates. Like from $21-24 back to $15-18 an hour 😡. Home health agencies are paying $12-14. Its a joke!

I feel like its a poverty loop. I have bad credit also because i had cancer a few years ago and my credit cards went bad becausei couldn't work. I know ive made bad decisions but im trying desperately to crawl out of poverty. Ive tried my whole life, but the rungs of the ladder are so far away and the ladder is so unstable. If you are poor enough no one is willing to help and you cant do it yourself, you get stuck, you try to pull yourself out, but it only takes one small thing to knock you back into the loop 😭.

Does anyone have any suggestions?