On the last Wednesday of each month, as they have for the past five years, attorneys and interns from the Sacramento Public Defender's Office and private defense attorneys, go to Loaves and Fishes. There they meet with their homeless clientele to conduct interviews, open case files, check for outstanding warrants, and relay offers on existing cases. Also present are Loaves and Fishes staff members who are usually familiar with the clients seeking assistance and can provide background information on them. This information is helpful in discovering which persons suffer from mental illness, addiction problems, real physical limitations, chronic homelessness, and other obstacles impacting housing.

Many legal difficulties can raise barriers to the homeless in securing temporary shelter, transitional housing, retrieving driver's licenses, securing employment, getting professional certificates for employment and maintaining a sense of selfworth.

Since the Loaves and Fishes Legal Clinic began in June 2000, over 4,900 homeless clients have been helped. With their warrants cleared and no active cases, many clients of the clinic have moved into transitional living programs, residential treatment programs, or obtained employment. Many others have been able to get their driver's licenses reinstated, thereby increasing their chances for employment. In addition, clients from the homeless clinic have performed over 17,000 hours of community service in lieu of jail time and saved the taxpayers the expense of over 2,000 days of incarceration.

The homeless are vulnerable to citations and tickets for minor offenses due to their visibility. More often than not, local law enforcement agencies issue tickets to the homeless for non-violent minor infractions and low level misdemeanors, such as illegal camping, trespassing (on railroad tracks or other private property), riding Regional Transit's light rail without the proper fare, jaywalking, open containers of alcohol, riding bicycles on the wrong side of the street, possessing an unauthorized shopping carts, etc.(These offenses are often referred to as quality of life offenses). Most of these offenses may be resolved by appearing in court and/or paying a fine. As one would expect, most of these fines are rarely paid. Additionally, recipients of these tickets must attend Traffic Court, held at the Carol Miller Justice Center, miles away from where they are. The conundrum for the client is then whether to chance riding the light rail without the appropriate fare to make it to court to avoid a warrant from being issued.

Nearly all the homeless have no money to pay these fines or fees. As one homeless person said recently, " If I didn't have the $1.50 to pay to ride the bus, what makes the judge think that I have money to pay a $64.00 fine?" Because of this conundrum, homeless people often do not show up to court which then results in a Failure To Appear (FTA) warrant. These warrants result in incarceration for the homeless. Warrants are costly in terms of booking fees (currently set at $164.00) and incarceration fees ($50.00 per day). An individual may spend anywhere from three(3) to five (5) days in jail for an FTA on an illegal camping ticket.

Furthermore, many homeless people are reluctant to go to court because of concerns about their unkempt appearance. More are apprehensive to go to court because they are truly fearful they will be arrested and incarcerated. And, there are those with certain mental disabilities who simply cannot follow the rapid proceedings, let alone the legal jargon that flies among court staff.

The Loaves and Fishes Homeless Legal Clinic is an on-site effort to assist our homeless population with these various issues and concerns. Staff and volunteers contact with clients at Loaves and Fishes helps alleviate many of the fears and apprehensions that homeless people have about a judicial system that in the past has ignored or failed to address the realities and complications of homelessness.

Loaves and Fishes has been assisting the areas homeless population for many years. As a result, there is an existing trust and familial relationship between the staff and the clients. Many clients are referred to the Legal Clinic, and often from the clinic, to one or several of the various programs already in existence at Loaves and Fishes: such as Genesis the mental health clinic, Clean and Sober, and Women's Empowerment. There is also a day kennel so that those participating can safely lock up their pets. Because Loaves and Fishes serves lunch, people can attend the clinic without having to miss the noon meal.

It was Loaves and Fishes' reputation among the poor, homeless, and disabled for providing services in a spirit of love and respect that made it the logical place to conduct a legal clinic. Bringing lawyers to a place where the clients feel safe and where they recognize and trust the staff has been a major part of the clinics success.

Because many homeless are now participating in the Loaves and Fishes Clinic, the courts, law enforcement, and prosecutors are saved the costs associated with tracking down the homeless with warrants, serving them, housing them in jail, processing paperwork required for in custody arraignments and transportation, as well as the cost associated with attempts to enforce the payment of fines owed the court.

The Loaves and Fishes Clinic/Court is a voluntary program and no client is required to participate. However, each year the number of clients participating in the clinic continues to grow. From June 2000 to December 2000, 231 clients came to the clinic. By 2003, that number was 1,731. In 2004, 2,077 clients participated in the client and performed over 9,000 hours of community service.

The success of the program is best demonstrated in cases where individuals get their driver's licenses reinstated so that they can return to work. Moreover, saving the homeless from unnecessary incarceration, aiding them in gaining housing or, reaching sobriety, are successes that can't easily be measured. The integrity of the program is highly regarded not only by the staff at Loaves and Fishes, but also by local law enforcement entities. Some police officers are now referring the homeless to the legal clinic to get their warrants cleared rather than arresting them. Furthermore, various community and government agencies who are involved with the local homeless population are sending people to the clinic to clear up old and new cases so that they are eligible for programs.

When a person first comes to the clinic, a warrant check is done, a file is opened, and a court date is set. This court date is always the third Thursday of each month and is referred to as the Loaves and Fishes Calendar. The Misdemeanor Supervising Attorney from the public defender's office runs the calendar.

On their scheduled date, clients are escorted to court by staff from Loaves and Fishes. If the client receives community service, they check in with Loaves and Fishes staff before leaving the courthouse. Their community service will be done at Loaves and Fishes or another non-profit organization. The community service is supervised and the hours are tracked by staff from Loaves and Fishes. There is no fee imposed on clients participating in community service, which in the past had been a major, often monumental, obstacle for clearing their legal issues. Furthermore, an additional benefit for the clients performing community service in being supervised by Loaves and Fishes staff is that the staff members are sensitive to the clients mental and/or physical limitations. As a consequence, community service hours are tailored to the persons' strengths and abilities, thereby making successful completion of their sentences more likely.

Prior to the existence of the clinic, most homeless people with tickets and citations were simply doing jail time because they could not afford to pay for the Sheriffs Work Project or the Alternative Sentencing Programs. Homeless people were not attempting to seek out support or assistance programs because they had warrants for quality of life offenses and feared incarceration. There was very little or no trust in the judicial system, including the Public Defender's Office. Most homeless persons believed that they had nowhere to turn for assistance, and status quo existed for many years. Because of the efforts of the Public Defender's Office and Loaves and Fishes, that has changed.

Unfortunately, the Homeless Clinic/ Court is in jeopardy. For five years Loaves and Fishes has provided space, resources, and staff to operate the on site clinic. The Loaves and Fishes Staff Court Coordinator assist clients with navigating through the criminal Justice system, works with the Public Defender's Office to check the status of any warrants, confirm court dates, provide information and referrals to clients seeking assistance, screens and registers clients for the clinic, escorts clients to court, supervises the community service program, tracks and documents community service hours, and coordinates and submits completed paperwork to the court.

Donations to Loaves and Fishes have decreased or have been targeted for other Loaves and Fishes programs, such as the Mustard Seed Program, Genesis, Maryhouse, etc. Many of these programs receive donations that are restricted to that particular program. Loaves and Fishes can no longer support the clinic out of its general funds. However, to survive and be effective in reaching the homeless and disabled population, the clinic must rely on Loaves and Fishes location and staff. The cost of continuing the clinic is $50,000 dollars per year.

Members of the Public Defender's Office and staff from Loaves and Fishes are seeking donations and grants that would be targeted specifically for the legal clinic. There are plenty of attorneys, interns, and staff to continue the legal clinic, just not enough funds to pay for the staff and buy the necessary supplies. The Legal clinic will continue to operate until December. Then, unless donations for the clinic increase, many of the poor, disabled and homeless will be sent back to jail.

If you are interested in more information, contact Angie Mendoza or Tim Brown at Loaves and Fishes, 446-0368 or 446- 0874. You can also contact Tommy Clinkenbeard at the Sacramento Public Defender's Office at 874-3682.

November / December 2005