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You have to grow up fast when a parent is struggling with addiction.

My mother was a social worker who helped abused and neglected children. She was a mental health advocate and counselor. She had a rebellious streak and a great sense of humor. She was unendingly kind. And she struggled with mental illness and addiction to prescription medication her entire life.

I remember getting home from school, and knocking on the door. And nobody would answer. I knew my mother was inside, but she wouldn’t or couldn’t come to the door. I may not have known exactly what was happening, but I knew it wasn’t quite right.

As a child standing in front of a locked door you can’t help but feel powerless. But that’s true of all people who have watched a loved one battle addiction. You’re on one side offering help, and they’re locked away, convinced they’re fighting this monster on their own. You want to tear the door down and just fix it. But you can’t.

There are far too many families right now in Wisconsin with that exact feeling. Addiction, and in particular opioid addiction, is a crisis in this country.

And it must be stopped.

That’s why I led the bipartisan effort to secure a $1 billion emergency investment to fund local prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts. This will help make sure Wisconsin communities have the funding they need, so people have somewhere to turn for help.

But that’s just a start.

I’ve introduced the Combating the Opioid Epidemic Act, which would invest billions in communities in need, strengthen our addiction research, and shore up our prevention programs. I’ve authored legislation to slow the revolving door between the pharmaceutical industry and the agencies charged with monitoring them. It’s going to take that kind of ambitious, full-throttle work to curb this crisis.

I always tell people to speak up and share their experiences, because their life lessons ought to help shape and inform policy in the Senate. Over the past few years, I’ve heard stories from dozens and dozens of law enforcement officers, judges, community counselors, doctors, recovering addicts, and their family members working to end this crisis. I’ve taken those stories back to Washington to explain how urgent this crisis is.

I thought it was time to add my story too.