Judge Debra Lev wants to bring a new kind of justice to the City of Bellingham. "Jail is not the answer," says the municipal court judge of 21 years. For more than a decade Lev has been envisioning a court where jail is a last resort for low-level offenders and rehabilitation is the road to redemption. "I hear from these people and they feel like, maybe for the first time in their lives, that they're seen as a person," says Lev. Homelessness, mental health issues and crime are rising in the city. So far this year there have been at least 87 overdoses compared to 70 all of last year. READ THE FULL STORY HERE: https://www.king5.com/article/news/crime/bellingham-therapeutic-court-tackle-downtown-problems/281-67d3742f-c05f-46a8-9790-9130769eb9c3