> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # New court could serve as ‘gateway’ - URL: https://www.smdp.com/new-court-could-serve-as-gateway/ - Published: 2006-07-04T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T18:43:14.000Z - Author: Guest Author - Tags: Crime, Downtown, #archive-import, Homeless *City hopes new court will expand its reach* *By JACQUELINE LEE Special to the Daily Press* CITY HALL — Homeless people who have been charged with misdemeanors or have outstanding warrants will have their own courtroom within two months, county and city officials announced on Monday. The Homeless Community Court will open in September, marking Santa Monica as the first city in Los Angeles County outside of downtown LA to have a court “for sensitive human problems that don’t deserve jail time,” Santa Monica Mayor Bob Holbrook said in front of about 20 people who gathered at a press conference in front of City Hall on Monday morning. In order to minimize the number of homeless individuals who repeatedly cycle through the judicial system, the community court will serve as a gateway for the homeless population to access a network of services and rehabilitation programs after resolving their legal problems. The court, which will operate a half-day a month, will waive homeless individuals’ criminal charges if they agree to seek help for whatever issues they have. “No one wants to see homeless people get sent to jail for not having a place to live,” said Councilmember Richard Bloom. “We are using the courts to help them connect with the people or infrastructure who they have not been able to access before.” The community court will serve A PROFESSIONAL LEGAL CORPORATION 15 to 20 people per session, according to Kathryn Vernez, assistant to the City Manager for government relations. Individuals who are placed high on the priority list are the chronically homeless who “already have misdemeanors, have lived on our streets for a number of years, and who really need help because they’ve already been recycled through various systems,” she added. A location for the court has not been decided on, but officials are “working very closely with the judges to determine the best location in terms of their access to resources,” Vernez said. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Bernard Kamins, who presides over municipal violations, arraignments and a drug court for those who break the law in Santa Monica, has volunteered to oversee the new community court. He currently operates his courtroom at the LAX Courthouse. City officials hope to reach an estimated 150 to 200 chronically homeless individuals at the end of the one-year pilot program. Currently, officials estimate that Santa Monica spends about $8,000 on each homeless person for police, paramedic and city jail services, according to county officials. Those estimates do not include the amount spent by the LA County for additional jail, court and hospital expenses. Officials don’t know how much it will cost for each homeless individual to participate in the pilot program because each individual’s needs will differ. LA County has allocated $500,000 to fund the program for a year, while City Hall has committed $1.2 million in services and permanent housing to the program. LA County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky said the new community court will be more effective in dealing with the homeless population than the current judicial system is. “Instead of going to jail, they’re gonna go to work,” Yaroslavsky said. “Instead of going to jail, they’re gonna get housing. Instead of going to jail, they’re gonna get training.” City officials are preparing a wide range of services to meet individual needs such as job training, reuniting individuals who did not originate in Santa Monica with their families, drug rehabilitation, and finding affordable housing within and outside city limits. “Think about it. Could you live on the streets for two to five years and be mentally OK?” Vernez asked. “We need to give each individual time to stabilize. Part of the money is for a psychiatrist, a mental health navigator and therapeutic beds.” In addition to those services, Ocean Park Community Center (OPCC) Executive Director John Maceri hopes that the small size of the program will allow each homeless individual to receive the care and attention they may need. “Each person is an individual and we will tailor to the needs of each person,” he said. Antoney Millett,a 38-year-old who has lived on the streets for the past three years, agreed with Maceri that in order for the pilot program to be effective, the program must be flexible enough to meet the needs of each individual. “For programs like what the City Hall is planning, $1.2 million is very little,” Millett said. “It’ll only help a little bit. The important part for the program to be effective is if they are planning to do customized projects because each person is different. We’re souls, each one of us.” Millett said he is homeless because of repeated evictions. He has spent the last eight months residing on the fringes of Santa Monica. He frequently picks up bag lunches provided by OPCC and uses the bathroom at the Santa Monica Library to “freshen up.” He added that he also reads books there. “Santa Monica has always treated its homeless residents very well,” Millett said. “It’s great that they are starting this pilot program, but you can’t put someone into a program if they don’t want it or need it. Others may need mental care; there are many issues the City Council needs to consider.” In the upcoming months, the Santa Monica City Council will be working with LA County officials, the LA Superior Court, city-funded providers, and other homeless service networks to finalize plans. “I think a lot of it is going to be the careful upfront discussion that will be done,” Vernez said, “drawing on models that exist elsewhere in the nation, a hybrid of homeless and community courts so that they get a hand up on their lives.” As the rest of the LA County keeps a close eye on the outcome, some Santa Monica residents are eagerly awaiting the program. “It’s sad because it’s such a rich neighborhood,”said Kari Elliott, a Pico neighborhood resident of five years. “There are a lot of homeless, especially around here. I don’t know who’s responsibility that is, but it needs to be taken care of.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on July 4, 2006.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/070406.pdf?ref=smdp.com)