A hat left on Boston Common with a note for anyone in need to take it. field_54b3f951675b3

THERE ARE GRAND policy plans and programs to serve the homeless – and then there are more direct, small acts of kindness.

Last night, a team of 300 volunteers and city officials, led by Mayor Marty Walsh, hit the streets to conduct Boston’s 38th annual homeless census, an effort to gather information on the homeless population that will inform the coordination and delivery of services to those on the streets.

Benches on Boston Common with hats left for the homeless.

This morning, two benches along the Boston Common walkway from Park Street Station to the State House offered very immediate and tangible help to those spending their days and nights out the cold. Three hand-knitted hats stood on the bench support posts, with a note attached to each reading, “I am not lost. If you are cold and need me, please take me.”

In the only hint of who was responsible, the notes were signed “V” – followed by a smiley face.

Bostonians are sometimes pegged as a brusque and unfriendly lot. One kind knitter is making a statement otherwise.

Michael Jonas works with Laura in overseeing CommonWealth Beacon coverage and editing the work of reporters. His own reporting has a particular focus on politics, education, and criminal justice reform.