Good job of putting a human face on the costs when society abandons the troubled among us.  Like it or not, a society is measured by the way it treats the wounded birds.  Like it or not, that means some type of governmental infrastructure.  While the donations from local merchants in Harvard Square are to be commended, it simply is not a model which can be generalized.  Nor is it remotely sufficient.  Neither party has the gumption to address this type of social need these days.  And we all are paying a price for it.  Although there are relatively few people who may end up sleeping on the street in the snow, the rest of us could be sitting at a movie the next time someone explodes, or we could be sitting at our desk at work when an angry co-worker returns with a gun, or we could be going to the funeral of a relative who commited suicide, absent adequate care.  The list could go on and on.  Socially, we need to re-dedicate priorities to supporting each other.

yes, this is a sad tale, but why is it sadder than the dozens, if not hundreds of others about homeless people in this Patrick-led People's Republic? Didn't I read recently that the Patrick mob is turning folks away from short term shelters on the excuse that long term solutions are needed to a deficit of permanent housing? This Harvard Square pair gets an offer of a thousand bucks a month from an unnamed businessperson for rent if they can find an unused coal bin in a Brattle street manion or an Allston tenement. How many folks on the Section 8 or other housing sought lists would welcome such an offer from a charitable person? Again, what makes these folks so more special, other than that they are more colorful than lots of others, and have caught the sympathy of a Globie with nothing else to write about? Oh yeah. . . one needs to add what about those dozes, if not hundrds of other homeless folks who happen to have kids in their custody, never mind cats?

Why doesn't someone in this Harvard Square community donate an apartment or find someone who will for the donated $1.000 month plus what they can earn rent?  From what you describe, the Square's been a pillar of "community", save for the fact that these "beloved" folks are homeless in their midst.  And not just for a few days, weeks, or a couple of months--but years???

There's gotta be more to this story than is in the article.  Both should be able to get assistance to find stable employment, maybe not great-paying, but stable nonetheless.  If they cannot work then they can get welfare assistance, or if they have disabilities (which sounds like might be the case), they can get SSDI.  Also, they should qualify for Section 8 assistance to get an apartment.  Something is not right about this story.  It can't simply be that "the safety net is a mess", believe me.  The city of Cambridge itself has a job matching program and assistance for food and shelter, and the red tape for that is minimal.  So . . . . what's wrong with this picture?  What information is missing in the backstory?  (Oh, and I'm not implying that the two people are suspicious or something; I just mean the article itself leaves a lot out.)

Here is a prime example that everyone gave this couple too much. They felt so loved in Harvard Square they wanted to hang out there 24 hours a day. This statement is very suspect "Dennis said the owner of their apartment wanted to sell the building, so they left voluntarily, even though they had nowhere to go"

So now they try to recreate the "loving" feeling they got from the harvard Square community but the free stuff has dried up and they refuse to see it.

I also remember the Daughter (Cardullos) removing the TV because the group was bringing food from other places to watch the sox game. She felt it was also hurting business by blocking the entrance. There was a huge local uproar about that also.