Becoming an artist – please help me

Hello and thank you for reading this. I'm an amateur artist from eastern europe, who enjoy arts in all its forms and dreams of becoming a professional artist. I don't have the means to follow my dream, although I'm already 29 years old and I've been painting and drawing all my life, it was just impossible for me, living in a poor country, to raise enough money to attend an university or class overseas and there are times when I can;t even pay for materials. That;s the thing I enjoy most in life and I don't want to give up on it, because I lack a diploma or materials. I know art shouldn't be about diplomas, but lacking one do limit the range and quality of job options and there were plenty of times when people looked down on me as an artist because I'm not professionally trained.Please help me achieve my dream, anything helps at this point, since there are times when I can't even afford to pay for materials. Thank you.