Two years ago this month, after a successful pilot project, Gov. David Ige signed into law Act 55, establishing the Community Outreach Court (COC) for certain offenders who owe a debt to society they cannot possibly repay — particularly nonviolent defendants who are homeless and destitute.

On Monday, a homeless man named Isaiah Kaumana Ruiz stood before the COC court in Kaneohe, waiting to hear his sentence for setting up a tent in a public park. In a regular court, he could have faced a maximum penalty of $500 and 30 days in jail, plus court costs.

But the COC is not a regular court. Thanks to a cooperative arrangement among the Judiciary and the offices of prosecutor and public defender, the court helps offenders like Ruiz clear their records and get help from social service agencies.

It does not send anyone to the state’s overcrowded and understaffed jails. Instead, Judge Darolyn Lendio sentenced Ruiz to four hours of community service.

Ruiz is one of a growing number of people who have voluntarily taken their cases to the COC. It’s an encouraging trend, one that ought to continue.

The proliferation of homeless campsites on Oahu, along with the impatience of the public and politicians, have prompted sweeps and other enforcement actions, including issuing citations for offenses ranging from public drinking to drug use to illegal camping.

The crackdowns may satisfy law-and-order absolutists, but experience shows they do little good.

Inevitably, a homeless person without the resources to pay a fine or defend himself in a traditional court will opt to do nothing, leading to more citations and bench warrants. Eventually, the ever-heavier legal burden will make it nearly impossible to lift himself by his bootstraps and rejoin regular society.

The COC is based on the common-sense premise that fining and jailing people for economic hardship — for trying to survive on the streets — is an ineffective and misplaced form of justice. The program is not unique to Hawaii; so far, there are 31 homeless courts in 13 states. Only cases involving nonviolent, non-felony offenses are heard.

Through plea bargains, the court addresses several problems at once. It holds the offender accountable and can require some restitution to the community, such as cleaning up public spaces. It clears multiple cases by the same offender, offering a better path to getting a job or a driver’s license, the building blocks of rejoining society. It reduces the burden of multiplying cases clogging the court system. It places social- service agencies in the proceedings, including the option of requiring participation in programs such as mental health services, substance abuse treatment, sustenance and shelter, depending on the offender’s needs. And it’s mobile, setting up shop in the communities where the defendants live, decreasing the problem of no-shows. Participation is purely voluntary.

So far, the numbers look pretty good. According to the Prosecutor’s Office, 159 individuals have participated or are participating in COC as of Monday. Of those, 110 completed the program; 24 are pending completion; three have not yet appeared; and 22 have been removed from the program for various reasons.

Participants completed 3,508 hours of community service work, and 1,862 cases have been cleared.

COC has conducted proceedings in Honolulu District Court (96 participants), Wahiawa District Court (31), Waianae (27) and Kaneohe District Court (5).

Going forward, the Legislature and state agencies should support the expansion of COC. It needs to reach more homeless people in more communities, and to hold proceedings in spaces less intimidating than a formal courtroom (in Waianae, the court convenes in the public library).

COC won’t end homelessness, but it’s a key part of a multi-part solution. And it recognizes something more fundamental: that the right to equal justice under law should not depend on a person’s income, or lack thereof.