To the editor,

I support Alison Page for Wisconsin Assembly District 30. When I was a reporter for the Hudson Star Observer in 2013 I wrote a series of stories about the scourge of opioids and heroin in our community and the terrible toll it was taking on our young people and their families. In the span of a little over a year, seven young people died of overdoses and countless others were addicted to opioids and heroin.

That year, the Hudson Community Foundation took the brave step to shine a light on this problem. To reach beyond Hudson I partnered with St. Croix County Medical Examiner Patty Schachtner to produce a publication, the first of its kind in the state, to focus on the problem, tell the stories of those living it and provide resources to help across our district.

When we went looking for sponsors to help defray the cost of publication, it was only Alison Page as the head of Western Wisconsin Health in Baldwin who stepped up, not just to contribute to publication costs, but to foot the bill entirely. Under Page's leadership, I learned that Western Wisconsin Health had made a commitment to make mental health a priority right along with traditional physical health. Page understood the importance of providing care in all its forms to the residents of Western Wisconsin. And she recognized that the best place to start reaching people about their mental health was through their local physicians and caregivers.

That kind of insight coupled with professional know how and leadership makes Page the person we need to represent us in Madison. She has proven her commitment to the welfare of all of us living in her district. Think of the difference it could make in Madison to have someone working, not for some party ideology, but on what serves us all.

Meg Heaton

Hudson