Family

I

I am astounded at the way people react towards their families currently.  I am not sure if it is unusual, but I was raised that your family is sacred and you take care of them no matter what.  This is not to say I did not quarrel with my siblings, we fought like cats and dogs at times, but we always knew that if we had some significant problem the family would be there to help.  Some people say you fall so you can learn how to get back up, but what happens when getting back up is not something that you can accomplish without help?

I have a family of clients currently.  Father, mother and grandmother are all Second Wind clients and in serious trouble.  They have a business that is not worth saving and will have to sell off what they can to salvage some cash from the termination of their employment.  They are additionally behind on their housing obligations and facing foreclosure.  We managed to stave off the initial auction proceeding, but in less than three weeks they could be homeless.  How does a father tell his family that he was unable to provide for them and they will have to leave their home?  If they cannot be saved, they lose not only the timber and drywall of the structure, but the place where his kids took their first steps, where they said their first words.  The value of a home goes far beyond the materials used to create it or the amount of acreage it has.  When you have a family it is never about being a house and always about being a home.

In the darkest hours of their lives, they found a cousin who recently moved back to the area with good financial standing.  He chose to retire to their vicinity and we immediately reached out to ask for his help.  He could stand up to everything needed and preserve their homes as well as taking a cash benefit from our dealings in the end.  This gentlemen was nice and polite and expressed interest in helping my clients.  Everything seemed as if we would be able to succeed immediately and these clients could move on with their lives.

The more I talked to this man, the more I realized he was interested in helping these clients only on the condition that the numbers work out from an investment position and if there was enough margin to make it worth his time.  This is what leaves me stunned.  Were it my family, I would write the check today, now, without hesitation.  It is simply what you do.  You protect the people you care about.  This man views this dealing from a viewpoint I fear I will never understand and he is the last hope of my clients.

Is this the brave new world we are moving forward into?  A failing/failed economy and a cold unfeeling world?   Am I the strange one or is this an unusual reaction to the ability to save your family?  I have nothing against this man, but I would like to know how he can avoid moving forward when he is the sole ray of light for these people. What would you do in his positon?