[2banana]

Things were easier before his girlfriend walked out in December, four months after giving birth, leaving Jimmy as the boy's sole provider.

Ummm - wouldn't that be the MOTHER that walked out on them...Out of wedlock births are the #1 predictor of poverty.

[finallyatexan]

Doesn't this state have the WIC program, or ADC (Aid to dependent children) or food stamps - all the usual to programs to help out .

[wideawake]

(1) He could put the child up for adoption.

(2) Is it wise to leave a child in the custody of a homeless guy on depression medication?

(3) Does this man not have a mother or father? Sisters or brothers? Aunts or uncles? Anyone who could lend him, or more importantly, his child a hand?

(4) His main excuse for being unemployed seems to be that he's too sleepy to work. To put it mildly, that's not the best excuse I've ever heard.

(5) The reason why he hasn't given the child up for adoption or to a female relative is because he knows that the kid is his "draw" for his panhandling. If the kid were adopted, his "TOO SLEEPY TO WORK, PLEASE HELP" sign wouldn't be nearly as lucrative.