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Letter to the Editor: Therapeutic Courts Provide Lifeline

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By Joseph Barsana

Published: May 14, 2025, 6:00am

May is more than spring blooms and holiday gatherings. It’s also National Therapeutic Court Month, a time to honor a part of our justice system that offers something urgently needed: second chances rooted in compassion, accountability and recovery. Amid today’s fentanyl crisis, this approach has never been more critical.

I speak from lived experience. I’m a proud graduate of the King County Drug Diversion Court, and it saved my life.

Therapeutic courts go beyond punishment to address the root causes of crime, including addiction, mental illness, trauma and systemic inequities. They offer evidence-based treatment, medications for opioid-use disorder, housing and job support, and, most of all, human connection.

On Oct. 29, 2018, I woke up on a jail floor drenched in sweat from withdrawal. I’d been arrested over 20 times in three years. But that day, I didn’t need punishment — I needed help.

Therapeutic court gave me a path to recovery. I completed long-term treatment, found employment and had my felony charge dismissed. Today, I work for the very court that helped save me.

Therapeutic courts don’t just change lives — they save them. I’m living proof.