The poor have always been with us, even in a rich country and a prosperous time. I ask Ben Metcalf, former Secretary of Housing and Community Development in California, about the challenges and successes of the government in providing shelter for its people. Our conversation recalls the question from Matthew Ben Metcalf’s webpage at the Terner Center for Housing Innovation at UC BerkeleyBen Metcalf’s webpage at the College of Environmental Design at UC BerkeleyThe website for California’s Department of Housing and Community DevelopmentThe website for the national Department of Housing and Urban DevelopmentBrother John Vianney Russel, OP, on Almost Good Catholics, episode 31: Chatting with the Homeless Looking for Jesus among the Least of Our BrothersKrzysztof Odyniec is a historian of Medieval and Early Modern Europe; he is also the host of the 'Almost Good Catholics' podcast. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices