USA First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff

Dear First Lady Kathy Evers,
I lost my firstborn son, Austin Michael Belling, at the young age of 28 to fentanyl
poisoning. My son had battled serious mental health illness most of his life. He was
addicted to heroin for a short time and after a few months, he came to me asking for help.
I did everything in my power to help him get clean and he was sober for seven years.
Then he relapsed and did cocaine which turned out to be almost pure fentanyl. My son
should not have lost his life due to one mistake! Something needs to be done
immediately! I and many others believe fentanyl should be deemed a weapon of mass
destruction. It is wiping out an entire generation of our youth.
In 2021, Wisconsin lost 1,427 lives to this epidemic and I am committed to ending these
losses and honoring the lives and memories of my son and all of those lost.
I know you are an advocate for the social and emotional learning and mental health of
children. Our children need to know the dangers presented to them daily by this epidemic.
We need to address the grieving of all these families. I’m hopeful as a mother you will
understand the urgency I, and countless other mothers in Wisconsin, feel towards ending
this epidemic, educating our children, and addressing the mental health of substance
users as well as those in grief.
Would you assist us in finding a permanent location for a Drug Epidemic Memorial Wall
within our Capitol? We have created two memorial walls: one with photos and one with
names. I am including Austin’s frame below. These digital walls and albums update
automatically. We would also like the photos displayed in hard copy format. The wall of
names can be projected on a wall so parents can touch their loved one's name. We would
like our loved ones to be treated like victims. They were all victims of Purdue Pharma (an
American cartel) and many, many others. Now, they are victims of the Chinese criminal
networks and the Mexican cartels. We are using the word “drugism” for the prejudice
toward drug users.
Wisconsin moms would love to meet with you and work to prevent this from happening
ever again.
Sincerely,
Daeni Belling, mother of Austin Belling
West Bend, WI
1021