If you are a homeless person who had your property taken by Caltrans in one of its sweeps of encampments in Berkeley, Oakland, and Emeryville you may be entitled to money to compensate you for what you lost.

This very odd question occurred to me after Terry Messman, the editor of Street Spirit, suggested I write something for the paper in conjunction with the publication of my book, Doodling on the Titanic: the Making of Art in a World on the Brink.