"Homeless Court" Begins Thursday In Sonoma County

SANTA ROSA - Starting Thursday, homeless people in Sonoma County with traffic citations and other infractions will have their day in their own court.

Sonoma County Superior Court and the Task Force for the Homeless are partnering with prosecutors, defense attorneys, homeless shelters and homeless services' agencies in launching the project to meet the needs of the county's expanding homeless population.

The homeless who are coming to the court in Santa Rosa must be referred by a homeless service agency with which they already are working.

"The point is to work with people who are ready to re-enter the system and get back to jobs and housing. They have to be connected to homeless service agencies," said Georgia Berland, executive officer of the Sonoma County Task Force for the Homeless.

There are 14 people with a total of 43 offenses on Thursday's homeless court docket, and two defendants each have 10 citations, Berland said.

Many of the infractions are unpaid traffic fines, and "homeless lifestyle citations" that include illegal camping, illegal possession of a shopping cart, minor trespassing, urinating or drinking in public and other offenses that may not have occurred if the offenders were housed or could exchange community service for fines, Berland said.

Unpaid fines for infractions often are noted on background checks and prevent homeless people from securing jobs and housing, Berland said.

"The Homeless Court will allow these folks to get a fresh start," Berland said.

The homeless court will convene on the second Thursday afternoon of April, July, October and January.

Commissioner Anthony Wheeldin will preside over Thursday's inaugural session between 1:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. "We're aiming at hearing 40 citations each quarter," Berland said. "It's not a place to contest an offense. It's to get a review and do what you have to do to clear it up," Berland said.

Marin County has a similar homeless court known as Marin Community Court, Berland said.

Wine County Weekend which raises money during an annual auction in the fall, contributed a $25,000 grant to coordinate and evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot program, Berland said.

Other partners in the homeless court endeavor include the county's Probation Department, which is offering bus tickets to the homeless to get to the court in Santa Rosa, the Volunteer Center, County Community Development Commission and Legal Aid.

The results of a 2016 homeless count in Sonoma County will be available in late spring or early summer.

The homeless count in January 2015 was 3,107, of which 2,100 people were living outdoors.

"We have three times the national average because of the mismatch between housing costs and lower wages," Berland said.

-By Bay City News Service, image via ShutterStock