Abuse of this commonly held notion is what has driven my family apart to make this answer clearer - anyone that abuses familial ties for money is not family. Someone that would abuse the sacred relationship for something as material as temporary funding for selfish purposes is a person that deserves neither money nor love from me.
The way I see it, there can definitely be abuses. But there is certainly a place for helping non-abusers, too. Robert Frost said "Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in." Well, family are the people who, when they genuinely need help, you have to try to give it.