In reflecting on the Homeless Court Program, Judge Lo writes the following to the people who take advantage of this life-changing new program.

MERCED COUNTY HOMELESS COURT PROGRAM

Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies. (Shawshank Redemption) Here’s the question: Are you homeless but hopeful, or is the court hopeful but homeless? Both, actually.

First, let’s talk about you. Homelessness doesn’t have to lead to hopelessness. You may be homeless, that is, you do not yet have a place of your own, but the court wants to give you hope as you work toward having your own place. We can’t do everything, but we can clear financial and/or legal hurdles by recalling misdemeanor warrants and infraction failures to appear and forgiving or reducing related fines and fees. If your case meets criteria, the court will allow you to satisfy or reduce your fines and fees with volunteer or programming hours. For example, if you are in an outpatient treatment program or a residential treatment program (such as the Rescue Mission, the Hobie House, Tranquility Village, Iglesia De Cristo, and other such programs), your volunteer and programming hours would probably be more than enough to wipe clean or substantially reduce your qualified court fines and fees.

How can you take advantage of this service? The first thing you do is contact the court Homeless Court Navigator, Mr. Jim Romig, at (805) 975-3787. He can help walk you through the whole process, including helping you to complete the necessary forms, submitting them to the court, and appearing with you at your court hearing. You will also be represented by an attorney at the Public Defender’s Office or another attorney free of charge to you.

Second, let me explain the court’s hopeful but homeless situation. The court is homeless because you do not come to the courthouse for your hearing. We come to you, that is, the court comes to a community center to hold your hearing. We hope that by holding hearings away from the courthouse, you can be at ease that the court is there to help, not punish. We promise that you will not be arrested for an outstanding warrant for appearing at your Homeless Court hearing. Currently, our hearings are held on the 3rd Tuesday of the month, at 3pm, at the Village of Hope, 129 West Cone Avenue, Building 1.

“Remember Red. Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things. And no good thing ever dies.” We will be hoping that you will take full advantage of this program.

- Judge Paul C. Lo, Merced Superior Court