As the parent of a young adult with severe special needs, I’ve spent years navigating the emotional and physical demands of caregiving. My family is far from alone — hundreds of families across Maine, and thousands more across the country, face the same daily challenges. Too often, we feel unheard.

One person who has consistently listened and taken action is Joe Baldacci.

As chair of the Health and Human Services Committee, Joe championed the family caregiver pay program — a bipartisan law designed to finally recognize the essential work family caregivers provide every day. Even though the program is still awaiting full implementation, his leadership in getting it passed showed exactly the kind of commitment families like mine need.

When I first reached out to Joe, I wasn’t in his district. Today, I live in Florida — a move my family ultimately had to make because Maine still lacked an active, functioning family caregiver program. Even so, I still own a home in Oakland and remain deeply connected to Maine and the hundreds of families I’ve advocated alongside. Joe understood from the beginning that the caregiver crisis is both a statewide and national issue.

That grounded, practical, people‑first approach is exactly what we could use more of at the federal level. Investing in people, education, housing stability and health care isn’t controversial — it’s responsible governance.

Joe has a long record of strengthening communities. He listens, he collaborates and he fights for real people.

Todd Marlowe
Punta Gorda, Fla.