Shivering in the bitter cold, Pamela, a 37-year-old homeless woman, stood under a bus shelter in Boston’s sub-25 degree weather holding her cardboard sign: “Homeless, Please Help.” For many, the situation for Pamela couldn’t seem more desolate or dangerous but she manages to put her life in perspective.

“There are a lot of people that have it worse,” she said.

Pamela, who declined to give her last name, is one of the 6,636 homeless men, women and children in the Boston area struggling to stay warm and safe, according to the Annual City of Boston Homeless Census, conducted by the mayor’s office each year. Pamela, who