I dont know about Sardines. But it was typical of black people to be living together when I was growing up. My grandma stayed with us, I had an uncle stay with us, and one time an auntie and cousins. Grandma stayed with us until she passed, but it was one of those things, she lived alone, fell sick one time and my mom and pops had the space in the house so we moved her in with us and she was with us until she passed like 15 years later. My uncle that stayed came to look for a new job, my auntie and her kids that stayed was transitioning too. Growing up we always had the notion not to put our family in an old folks home or move away and never come back, but take care. And like the filipinos and mexicans whos grandmas stay home and cook and watch the young kids while mom and pop work, these members that are in the household have a role, task or job they do, they dont just have a free stay.
The issue ive seen is that a lot of times with black folks is that our health declines so when we hit 50-70 we are not longer a financial asset or contributing to the household in a way that sustains progress. And thats something that can happen and turn what is a system that is proven to work, to complete failure. If Grandma suddenly needs to go to dialysis, 2-3 times a week or has some other serious health ailment, now one of the members may need to quit their job or quit school, and now someone else has to cover for grandma and the person whos helping grandma and everyone feels the brunt. Then a sudden death, birth, job loss, people end up in that cycle of trying to catch back up.