My mother in law lives with my sister in law, they are in a house with no power and no got water. What can we do?

Hi Sophie, I'd like to point out a little something to you that you may not of thought of. I'll start by saying that when you call APS, you really don't want to tip your hand and let the guilty party know what you're doing. Think of it as something similar to a card game, because anytime you play a card game good players know not to tip their hands to reveal their cards. The same rule goes for calling APS, don't tip your hand and reveal your tricks to others. You really don't want the guilty party to know what's going on, especially since there is abuse going on in the situation. Anytime and abuser knows someone's coming, they'll make everything look and sound presentable. My abusive mom did this when they were expecting a social worker or someone from CPS to come in and check on the situation at home. Use this example as a good reason why it's never a good idea to tip your hand, you want the APS to walk in unexpectedly and find the situation. That way, the abuser has no chance whatsoever to hide any evidence of any wrongdoing, because APS will come unannounced when you least expect it.

Call Adult Protective Services in your area ASAP. If you know her doctor, call him about this situation. If you can't locate Adult Protection Services, then your local library maybe able to help you.

i saw a news article 20 yrs ago about a KY family who were living in an old school bus . both parents were in the tree service business but left the young kids in the care of responsible teen kids . theres a lot of stuff they didnt have but love and responsibility werent absent . a**hole neighbors called child services . child services found people doing the best with what they had -- very encouraging to me . i once lived in a 69 chevy van with my wife and son . before you knew it we were building the most beautiful home in all the midwest .
a poor man got poor ways ..

Get on the phone, call Adult Protective Services. Call Sis and tell her APS is on the way. Click on this link to identify who to report elder abuse to in your state. http://www.ncea.aoa.gov/Stop_Abuse/Get_Help/State/index.aspx

Also, if the situation is getting critical or dangerous, call 911 and let the cops deal with it. It sounds just ridiculous.

Wow, that is messed up. Your mother-in-law needs to be in hospice. Good luck!

hospice shouldn't cost anything, however

Yes, living in a house with no running utilities can be dangerous. Are there unpaid overdue utility bills? If this is the case, this would explain why there are no utilities. It may be time to call the APS and explain your situation. See if you can take pictures and make a video of the situation to show APS when you make your report. As for the drunks, I grew up around two constantly drunken parents, and people do stuff drunk they won't do sober. I lost my sister to abuse and I barely survived. Yes, alcohol can do some very nasty things to people. This is why you should take pictures and make a video of the whole situation. This would help APS to have something to go on. I only wish I thought of this sooner because maybe APS may have acted sooner in my foster dad's case. The more they have to go on the more likely they will be able to act. You may want to go for guardianship over the person/s needing medical attention but getting none. I don't see any reason why someone would be living in a nonrunning camper, this makes no sense. However, if the persons involved happen to be in a situation where they can't work or find a job but they get no benefits either, this is where are you may half to take whatever is offered even if it's not the best. I have a friend in this type of situation. He has no car to go get employment and he can't even find a job either. He got declined for federal benefits so he's living with someone else who wants him out. The people you describe who need medical care who also happen to be in danger should be immediately removed from the situation in which they're living. This is why APS should be alerted to the situation, especially if the patient needs end-of-life care such as hospice.

I am wondering about something:

Is it possible the reason why these people are prevented from coming out to help the patient is because whoever is preventing the visits may actually be guilty of abuse? Perhaps whoever is preventing the visits fears being found out because perhaps they know they're doing wrong and don't want anyone finding out. Another thing to consider is some other bad agenda. Perhaps the cancer patient needing care is being secretly taken advantage of (if they have money). That person's money may actually be what's keeping the alcoholism going. If the cancer patient dies in the care of whoever they are staying with, you really don't know that the survivors won't get rid of the body themselves when the patient dies. If this situation is out in the country pretty far from everything, the body could be buried on the property or even burned in an effort to save money on a proper disposition. Another thing to consider is when the patient dies, anyone with a sour agenda can take over anything the patient left behind when they died. Assets and other things can be liquidated and money can keep the alcoholism going. Meanwhile, you don't know that the guilty parties find another victim, this is usually how abusive alcoholics operate. This is why the APS should get involved along with other authority figures before something bad has a chance to happen and no one knows about it until it's too late. Worse yet, something bad can happen and maybe you may never know about it, even if the patient needing care dies and the body is disposed of on the property. Another thing I thought of is the reason why hospice is prevented from visiting is May be because whoever is preventing the visits probably can't afford that or other services. It may be that the patient needing care is actually being left to die in this current condition for lack of money, especially since alcohol is definitely involved from your description. Let me tell you that alcohol is expensive. I may not have known somethings during my childhood, but as an adult I started learning things I didn't know back then. Alcoholics will often spend every dime on booze and they often take advantage of others who have any money or anything that can be liquidated. Yes, alcohol will definitely do some very nasty things to people.

happened to somebody I knew and they came and put her in a nursing home

Correction ...Second sentence should read "no power an no water issues".

Even in Georgia, no power can be dangerous to life. You can also call the county health department or the city code enforcement department to address the no power and no power issues.

Be prepared for anger from your SIL and MIL though, as a municipal inspection would require that they get power and water. If not, I suspect the house or camper would be condemned and deemed unfit for living.

Is there some reason there's no power or water? is it because of financial desperation?

Call Adult Protective Services and report this as medical neglect of an elder.

If this is a medical emergency, call 911, i.e., if she's in terrible pain.