Should I continue to help my Mothers roommate in the assisted living facility?

Do not transport her or become involved in her finances. If something runs amok, she will blame you and say you stole her money. Ask the Ombudsman or the Social Worker to look into her needs. If her own daughter avoids her, there must be a good reason for it.

08/27/16.... i agree with Sunny above, do not get involved or be driving her anywhere.... too much of a risk. You could get yourself in a pickle trying to help her. What if she falls getting out of your car? Or falls in the store.

I would keep her and your Mom in the same room, sounds like an excellent fit. They seem to get along so well. The next roommate might not.

I bet your want to know the back story on this woman. It must be very difficult for her mother to come see her daughter in Assisted Living. Wonder if this daughter was a caregiver for her own mother.

I'd keep away from anything regarding her finances or transporting her. The facility should be very familiar with how she pays and if she's not competent to manage it, they know how to call the right people to investigate and appoint a professional Guardian to handle her affairs. If they aren't paid, they'll be there pronto to fix that situation.

This kind of situation is what Social Workers are for.
What is she planning to use to buy the money orders at Walmart with that can't be paid directly to the facility? Big old rat carrying a red flag here.

What the heck?

For me, the clue is in the Assisted part of Assisted Living Facility. I don't care how flaming complicated it's got, it is for the managers of the ALF to assist their resident. It is not for you to feel in any way responsible for helping her - in fact it could turn into a minefield, and you should stay out of it - although it is nice of you to have helped this lady settle in, and it is nice that she and your mother are good room-mates.

I am sorry for the lady's elderly mother, and I can see it must be hard for you not to want to assist. But no, really don't. There are legal standards and contractual obligations at work here, and you shouldn't meddle.

I think it's very kind and compassionate of you to help this woman out in small ways - one can't help but feel badly for her and her poor mother. Still - as everyone has said, you should keep your gestures small and at this point, with her settled in and all, movies, tv and shared food treats really ought to be your limit. I hate to say it - but there are probably good reasons her family has nothing to do with her. Some people are born Blanche DeBois.

Ambriel,
I'm surprised that so many people are giving you such specific advise. They mean well, l'm sure, but no one really knows this woman or her family history. So why assume that she is trying to use you or that she must of been an abusive neglectful parent who deserves to be abandoned by her children. I've been a psych nurse for forty years and I' ve seen families of all kinds.
What I do know from your story is that you have shown her kindness and generosity, and have been compassionate. Isn't that what we are supposed to do for each other?
Sometimes children do abandon their parent just because they don't want to be bothered, are selfish or just don' t care. It happens more than you might think.
That being said, something has changed with this for you. You are uneasy about requests to become involved in more,much more, personal issues and responsibilities with This woman. That's because you have healthy boundaries, and personal integrity. I'm glad you said no. It's the right answer for you and your mom, and she's the one you're there for. You always have the right to say no.
As for moving your mom, if she is capable and safe, ask her what she wants.
And finally, there are many caregiver support groups in most community. Ask the staff, social worker, your pastor or nearby hospitals.This is a hard job you are doing and you also deserve a safe place to get support and understanding.
Your mother is fortunate to have such a loving daughter

I think you're wise to see the pitfalls in escalating the favors you're performing to something more akin to unpaid, perhaps unwanted duties. This is kind of like a spider's web, even if the spider is well intentioned and just needs help. The analogy is that once you get in, it becomes harder to extract yourself and it's very likely the help she needs will increase.

B/c of the fact that taking her to get money orders does involve money, I would stay away from that entirely. You write that her family has disowned her; that should be a clue to a negative family relationship. And even though they've disowned her, that doesn't preclude them from holding out their hands after she's gone. You don't want to be any part of having taken her anywhere that involves any kind of financial issue - you could be accused of having designs on her finances.

She needs to find someone else to help her.

I'm also not sure why she would be needing money orders; couldn't her room and board be paid directly from her checking account? I'm assuming she's on SS. If not, she must have some source of income, as apparently she's paying room and board herself, and no insurance is involved. Direct deductions could be arranged, I'm sure.

Another troubling aspect is that you wrote she had no possessions, no clothes...what was her situation before? Was she homeless? There's definitely a backstory with her.

I think the whole thing that troubles me though is the disowned status with the family; I can't help thinking there's more going on with this woman than meets the eye; you don't know what the family situation is, or how sincere or even manipulative this woman is. But I'm guessing there's a lot more going on that hasn't been told.

If you're uncomfortable being frank or asking to have your mother moved, invent a new job that precludes you from spending any more time with anyone but your mother. And don't buy anything more for her.

I'd also find a way to check your mother's cell phone logs to see who she's calling. It wouldn't surprise me if there are some unsavory aspects to her life, and you definitely don't want your mother dragged into these via cell phone use.

It wouldn't surprise me if this "reliance" on others is a pattern with this woman. She might be a perennial user.

Agree with all of the above posters! If shecwere to fall or God forbid you got in an accident while transporting her, you would be in a world of trouble! And money handling, Oh No! Take your concerns to the manager, not ask her to ve assigned to a Social Worker. You've been very kind up unto this point, it keep your distance, but be social and polite to her, for your Mom's sake. And the cell phone use, I'd be careful about that too!

Zythr and Babalou's posts just prior to mine raise some interesting issues.

The more I think about this I think it might be better to start thinking about getting a different roommate. Your mother may like this one, but I have a feeling, perhaps just a gut feeling rather than one that's substantiated, that that situation could change when you take a stand against doing favors for her.

And reading your last post about the prior substance abuse problem, I'm even more concerned about letting her use your mother's cell phone.