There is someone in my broader family who has been slowly falling apart for years. There's a lot of history there - some PTSD and depression related to sexual trauma over a decade ago, a general lack of 'having it togetherness', some medical issues. She has the education to work in a decent profession, albeit not a particularly well-paying one, but has for one reason or another been unable to capitalize on this education; instead she has been working as a nanny and picking up other odd jobs. During this time she has been apparently unable to establish any semblance of financial stability - she is essentially off the grid, not reporting income and paying in cash for everything and defaulting on some (modest) student loans.

Earlier this year she was thrown out of her parent's home (she is in her 30s) and has been squatting with friends in a rather precarious position since. She seems unable to reverse this slide into greater and greater precariousness, with essentially no safety net now that she is largely estranged from her family. Her full time job was recently axed, and while she may be able to find another position in a similar situation (albeit with substantial financial hardship and turmoil in the interim), it will not dramatically improve her situation. There is also a concern among those close to her that she may have a substance abuse problem, perhaps related to her medical conditions; this has reportedly led to a substantial deterioration in her job performance and already-poor ability to get her shit together.

I have witnessed this from afar - I do not live near her and am in very rare contact (the occasional call/email on a birthday or holiday); we haven't really gotten along for years, though there's more a total lack of compatibility rather than any animosity. But I am worried - her sister has tried to get her help, putting her in touch with organizations that can provide her assistance - her current situation makes her eligible for all sorts of government and private assistance, including housing assistance, food assistance, healthcare, etc. - but she has so far not shown any willingness to engage with these opportunities for relief. Perhaps this is a depression thing, perhaps a pride thing, perhaps who knows what. But it's become very frustrating to watch - she asks her social network for financial assistance, but appears to have no plan or motivation to turn said assistance into a sustainable improvement in her situation rather than a stopgap measure to address an immediate need.

So my question is: What would you do? I'm deeply concerned that she may sink further into substance abuse (if indeed that is an issue) and could become another OD statistic in America. Alternatively, her deep depression could turn suicidal given the precariousness of her situation. Or maybe her health will dramatically deteriorate and in the absence of a support system she might fall apart.

I don't know what to do. Part of me wants to just give her some money to stabilize the situation a bit - while it wouldn't substantially harm my family's finances, a thousand dollars here or there would be a dramatic improvement in her short-term circumstances. Yet I have refrained from doing so because I feel like it would enable her continued inaction on figuring out how to start piecing together her life. In the absence of money, I don't really have a close enough relationship with her to provide any sort of useful prodding or support to move her in a constructive direction; in fact, I bet it would either come off as nagging or condescension. But I fear that in the absence of some constructive change in her life things may get very dark indeed.