. >> reporter: in more tn two decades as district court judge, the honorable kathleen coffey has sentlenty of people to jail. >> hear yea, hear yea, all persons having business before the horable judge kathleen coffey. >> reporter: but her goal on this day is to keep them out. is is homeless court, he once a month at the pine street inn, the largest organization for homeless services in new england. >> when you're homeless, you are more likely to be involved in the criminal justice system because of your interactions e reet with police. >> many who end up here >> reporter: many who end up here areattling addiction. >> i'm coming up on two years off heroin this january. >> reporter: this man asked that we call him by his first name d ly, mathew. en though he's clean now, an arrest for drug possession from years ago stayed his record >> it's kind of a roadblock to securing employment. >> reporter: like all the defendants in this courtroom, social workershand prosecutors -picked his case. they have be homeless or cing homelessness, and have done the hard work of getting their lives back toget