Independent Sen. Angus King has shown a fierce devotion to finding solutions to the opioid epidemic.

You may have read about it in the paper, or seen it on TV. For too many of us, we’ve lived it. Be it through family, friends, neighbors or loved ones, or because of a personal struggle, people in Maine have felt the heavy toll of substance use disorder. It doesn’t discriminate and can happen to anyone.

Maine, the small town with really long streets, set another state record last year losing 418 people to drug overdoses. Building a recovery-ready community – one that reaches all levels of our government and is accessible by all Mainers – is necessary to tackle the drug epidemic.

From Portland to Paris and Milo to Bangor, Sen. King has integrated people in recovery, community allies, health professionals, lawmakers and law enforcers – Mainers – in working toward community-based solutions that can be strategically implemented in Washington.

Sen. King has pushed for expanded access to the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone, advocated for the increased availability of Medicaid and held the Senate Armed Services Committee accountable to their work on stopping the flow of illicit drugs into our country.

Perhaps even more than his legislative work, Sen. King’s ability to empathize with my struggle is what really resonates. He believes in me and in recovery-ready communities. Our stories matter. We matter. We are not our diagnosis or our past. We are people.

With Sen. King working on our behalf, our communities are healing. Prevention works and treatment is effective. People do recover and reach their full potential.

I encourage you to join me and support Angus King for re-election to the Senate this November. He’s working hard on our behalf. He’s a leader we can trust.

Andrew Kiezulas

Portland