Family

I knew my sister was having some trouble, but I recently found out her house was condemned and she is now living in a local shelter.  With her five children.

I feel so bad for my nephew (who is the oldest at 8) and my four nieces (ranging in age from 1 year to 6 years).  I wish there was something I could do to help them.  But I'm flat broke.  And my living arrangement doesn't permit me to really have any of them stay over, even for a few days.  I don't care about necessarily helping my sister, because she chose her life.  But my nieces and nephew didn't.  Why should they have to live in a shelter merely because of the poor choices their mother made?  Why should they have to suffer?

If I had the money and/or the space, I'd tell my sister to have my nephew live with me.  I couldn't offer him a lot, but I could offer him a stable home.  But I don't have the resources to do that.

The other thing I've told my sister to look into is the Milton Hershey School.  I think, especially now with her housing uncertainty, she should look to what's better for her children.

But it's not my choice and I have no say in the matter.  It just kills me to think about what my nephew is having to deal with through no fault of his own.  Kind of similar to my life in some respects....I went through a challenging childhood.  While I think I turned out (mostly) alright, I fear that he may not be able to.