Thumbs up: Taking homeless to court makes sense

Studies have found that roughly one in three homeless individuals in Sonoma County ended up on the streets because of a job loss. For many it was triggered by more simple things, such as an argument with a family member or even a traffic ticket. There’s not much the county can do to help with family relationships. But it can do a lot to prevent lives from coming unraveled by a ticket. That’s why the homeless court that debuted last week at Sonoma County’s Hall of Justice makes sense.

As Staff Writer Paul Payne noted in his story Saturday (“Justice for homeless”), the court is intended to lower the hurdles that keep people from finding and staying in housing. For example, one unemployed man now living in temporary housing was faced with the insurmountable task, for him, of paying off a $500 ticket. The court commissioner knocked the penalty down to 25 hours of community service - a move that probably saved the man a lot of grief and the county a lot of money in providing services to one less person on the streets. A worthy trade-off.