Plenty of people have half-baked ideas on how to solve the homeless problem. Chase ‘em off the sidewalks. Enforce the law. Put them in a “safe zone,” out of sight and out of mind. Jail.

Meanwhile, real-world solutions are put into practice at the Waianae Public Library on the fourth Friday of every month.

As the Star-Advertiser’s Dan Nakaso reported this week, the state Judiciary has set up an outpost there to better reach homeless people on the West Side cited for nonviolent offenses.

Their offenses are typical for those trying to survive on the edge: sleeping in public parks, pitching tents where it’s illegal, driving without a license. Some struggle with drug addiction and lack of a job. Their legal status makes it more difficult for them to rehabilitate themselves fully; often there are children involved.

The Community Outreach Court and its presiding District Court judge, Darolyn Lendio, work from folding plastic tables to provide the defendants — who are called “participants” — with a little justice and lot of help. But what the court lacks in gravitas it more than makes up for in practicality: Leeward Coast homeless don’t have to travel far to make their court dates. And with the prosecutor, public defender and judge working with a common purpose — rehabilitation rather than punishment — chances of long-term success should increase.

The reality of homelessness defies easy solutions. What’s required is patience and common sense, and the community court is a good place to find some of both.