Any homeless person who can get themselves together enough to actually enroll and attend classes deserves every ounce of help that the state can muster. The ability to be a student is a really strong signal and sorting function.
Side note: the community colleges in California are gem. They tend to be as close to free as they can be made and even if you have an advanced degree the classes are way cheaper than the Universities. And often the instructors are the same people who would be teaching you at the big University only in a much smaller class.