A homeless campsite across the road from the Facebook headquarters in Silicon Valley is one of about 10 camps that dot the boggy terrain. They are a striking sight near the brightly painted buildings housing the multi-billion-dollar corporation. The contrast epitomizes the Bay Area wealth gap.

Before he became HUD Secretary, Ben Carson did not have any experience in housing policies or in running a housing agency. His bizarre appointment to HUD has resulted in nothing short of bewilderment and frustration for housing advocates. Carson supports Trump’s proposed $6.2 billion in budget cuts for HUD.

“I’m so thrilled about the opportunity our church will have to build a tiny house. It’s such a do-able project for a local church; a deeply satisfying way to put some sweat equity behind our longing for economic justice; a poignant means of demonstrating our care for the most vulnerable neighbors.”

“While the federal government continues to eradicate the social safety net, the cost of housing in Santa Cruz continues to rise, creating an unstable situation locally, and leaving many of our poorest residents without homes. Local action to reduce the cost of housing and provide homes for all is long overdue.”

The ACLU of Oregon documented 224 laws in the state that criminalize or punish homeless people for life-sustaining activities.

On the top half, I depicted gentrification as a three-eyed dollar-sign demon injecting oppression into a young boy, resting on bars of money and bags of gold. Behind the demon, mother nature comes out of the sun, wielding a sword, and about to intervene to kill gentrification.

Berkeley’s public was tired of paying for the destruction of poor people’s tents decades ago, let alone picking up the tab for circling them through courts and jails. Criminalizing people with nowhere to go is unethical, expensive, a ridiculous assault on the dignity of everybody involved, and a civil rights violation.

Depending on who you ask, moving homeless people into wooden cabins either rescues them from the streets or paves the way for dead-end shantytowns. Rhonda, homeless after losing her job as a restaurant manager, is grateful for the shelter but says it’s a cramped place to bring up her five-year-old daughter.