Apparently, the FREE services they were offered weren’t to their liking and using their son to play on the sympathy of passers by was a much quicker way to get cash for their meth:

“Gavin deserves a chance in life,” said Mary Long, who began a crusade to improve Gavin’s and his mother Toni’s life after seeing them at the Embarcadero BART Station. “He wasn’t getting one being used as a panhandler tool by his chronically homeless mom.”

City officials say the family was repeatedly offered beds, services and child care. But their offers, they say, were rebuffed, and people like Long kept seeing Gavin panhandling.

…

Friday I spotted Toni panhandling on Market Street, with a sign that said, “Stranded. Homeless. Please Help.” I asked her where Gavin was.

“He’s in summer camp,” she said promptly.

No, he’s not. He is being evaluated for a foster home. This is an intervention. There will be a hearing later this month to determine if Gavin can stay with his mother and father. They need to show that they have a better plan for him than panhandling on Market Street.

Read the whole story here.