What a heart breaking story. This should be required reading for anyone who decides to have children before getting married. The common thread among the people in this story is that parents are not married. It is the kids who suffer, from the decisions made by the parents.

I think this family should be extraordinarily grateful the state (us?) is willing to pay such an expense. Can you imagine other broken families in the same situation around the world with no such opportunity.

I pray to god that I never wind up a situation like these people have to deal with. It must be very trying. It would be nice though, if the ones like Nicole Sheck's boyfriend would get off there butts and head over to Labor Ready a couple times a week.

to akb48, You must be a very hateful person to dump everything onto the illegal immigrants. You need to get a life.

These kind of stories are frustrating. I want to be sympathetic but can't help but wonder, where are the fathers of these children and what are they contributing to their care? Why hasn't the one guy in the story worked for years?

Three children aged 8 and under, each with a different last name, a boyfriend who doesn't work---I'm sorry, but Nicole Sheck's problems are all caused by her own ridiculous behavior. I have a hard time feeling anything but irritation. I do feel sorry for the children, though, especially the baby, who is saddled with both medical problems and a dreadful, tacky name.

Before Gov Patrick, 0 families in state funded hotels, now there's thousands. Prior leaders had DPW workers find decent housing for those in need. Patrick eliminated those positions and now we have this mess. These people deserve better, and so do the taxpayers. Patrick can't leave soon enough.

This is indeed a sad report on the state of the working poor today. I do wonder if this program includes lessons in decision making, though. Is working on a third masters degree and paying the cost of it the best thing to do when you can't afford housing? Same for paying for the bedroom set in Georgia, which will involve further expense to collect and transport - just go to goodwill for one. And restaurant meals? People must have pleasures no matter the income bracket, but ordering pizza or takeout is a lot more economical. These folks are hanging on by a string, and really cannot afford those luxuries. And they are luxuries, not necessities, a fact many today overlook. Same goes for having a tv, cable, a cell phone.

HomeBASE looks like a section 8 voucher system where the tenants pay only thirty or so percent of the rent and the State pays the rest plus utilities. This system is a heck of a lot cheaper than hotels/motels at $80.00 a day. Why doesn't the State opt for that route rather than the wasteful and partly useless route of the expensive motels and hotels? The State has been on this dumb and wasteful system for decades. When finally will it wake up?

This is the usual, Republican, to-the-right-of Genghis Kahn kind of response to the misfortune of others. I find it difficult to understand how you arrived at the conclusion that this individual is the sole cause of her problems and that, therefore, you feel no sympathy for her. Frankly, I don't think you can feel sympathy for anyone, anyway. But even if what you say is true, the answer is not to house them under a bridge. Is that your solution?

As usual, these Sunday Globe features have huge holes; the reporting is horrible. Is Braun the father of all of Ms. Sheck's children? If not, where is/are the father(s)? Is there child support being paid? Why hasn't Braun worked for several years? The list could go on and on but I guess these questions are irrelevant when you are more interested in getting publicity for your social policies than being a newspaper reporter.