Things have been going well for me over the years.
I have my own family, a wife, couple of kids.
I have a nice house and nice cars, make a decent living and have had raises in these tough times for others.
My sister has had troubles for years, though.
Had a drug problem, went to jail, 4 kids from 3 fathers.
She is recently married but neither her nor her husband (who she met in drug rehab) are working. They have two children living with them.
They had to leave the place where they were staying and the whole family moved into a homeless shelter last month and they are looking for assistance to get into an apartment.
My mother is a seperate situation. She is 67. Never got over the divorce from my dad.
Had a rough year a while back where 2 siblings and her father died within months of each other the same year my sister had a baby and went to jail for drug possession and her other child was taken away. My mom lost her job the following year as she took too much time off dealing with her daughter and grandchildren.
She went through her savings and got evicted from her appartment. She has been finding rooms to rent here and there.
She was thrown out on the street recently and is trying to live off of $800/month in social security.
I've tried hard looking for answers. She stayed with my brother for a bit.
I just found out she is now in a homeless shelter.
Their problems are mostly self-inflicted with some bad luck as well.
It is very hard to feel comfortable with my success while people close to me are suffering, regardless of the cause.
I help to the extent where it doesn't compromise my life too much. I can't risk my marriage and life with my children to do too much for them.