I've an old friend whom I love and grew up with. She made a surprise visit to my home with her boyfriend last summer after our not seeing one another in 7 yrs. I opened my home and made sure they were comfortable in the extra bedroom. I told them both that whatever they wanted to eat was in the frig. I asked them to make themselves at home as they were at home with me. She is family to me. I was working that week and it was nothing to me to provide her a key. She has always been a good person and good friend but since reconnecting after decades, I've learned she is continuously struggling with life. I have my own struggles and we sometimes commiserate. She has initially kept lots from me. However, as time has wained on, I've discovered things that I did not expect about her. She is currently unemployed, homeless, is penniless, and always off and on with her strange volatile boyfriend. She wants to "move to New Mexico to live with me, get a job, and start over". Tonight while talking on the phone, she admitted her boyfriend is on meth, and that she too "has used". This is not the person that I grew up with. I was shocked but I did not let her know. I realized that his behavior makes sense. Worse, I realized that her behavior also makes sense. She is a 54 year old woman who struggles with unemployment, homelessness, and uses meth. She is currently couch surfing where she can. I love my friend, but I cannot have her living with me. Too many red flags. Another of her freinds does not speak to her anymore for being used for money and for helping her out without gratitude or reimbursement. I think she sees me as an opportunity to run away, and be financially carried until she wears out her welcome. Bottom line: I work for the department of labor and cannot risk having meth or any other drugs in my home. I don't understand how the kind of life she describes is the life of my friend. I am not judging her. I love her. I would like her to make changes. I always encourage her. But, she cannot "live with me until she gets a job" that I know she doesn't intend to get. I don't know how I will tell her. I sense she is feeling desperate right now