Many, many years ago, I participated in an online community for fibromyalgics. I no longer do so because of people like the one in this story.
I'll call her "Mary." Now, all of us were affected by fibromyalgia, some worse than others. But Mary was always sicker than anyone else. If someone posted that she couldn't drag herself out of bed until 10am, Mary said she had to stay in bed all day. My hands hurt like someone had bashed them with a baseball bat. Mary said she hurt all over like that. You get the picture.
And then Mary started reporting that her mean old parents were talking about throwing her out. They were "tired of waiting on her hand and foot." No one else in her family and friends would take her in. Mary said "I know that my friends here on the list will take me in. I'll be willing to pay for the gas to get me and my stuff to your house."
Now, consider. Mary wanted people who were already ill, some of them already disabled, to provide her with food, housing, entertainment, transportation, housekeeping, etc. She did not offer to pay a penny in rent or anything else. Not surprisingly, no one volunteered.
After a day or two, Mary pitched a hissy fit online. We were terrible people who LIED about caring about each other, because a REAL friend wouldn't let her be homeless. She was just going to take all of her pills at once! So there! That would teach us a lesson!
And the list started to flap their collective wings and run in panicked circles. Did anyone have RL contact information for her, could they call 911 in that area and report it, and on and on, worryworryworry.
A day or so later, the list owner came on and said that there had been nothing to worry about. Someone DID have RL contact information for Mary, and showed up on her doorstep unannounced. The person who answered the door was Mary's mother. Mary -- poor, sick, disabled Mary who had to stay in bed all day -- was at work. No, she didn't have fibro, or anything else. She had a good, well-paying job. She paid rent to her parents; they were not on the verge of kicking her out.
That was when I left the list. I didn't need that kind of stress on top of my own personal stresses.