I am one of the thousands of young people raised in Maine who left the state after high school to pursue further education and employment opportunities. After nearly 10 years of contributing my energy and education to other communities, I returned to Maine in 2016 to help found a start-up social enterprise dedicated to helping Lewiston residents.

During the past four months, we have graduated 18 Mainers, new and old, from a brand new, privately-built social program. In 2017, we hope to graduate 120 more. Without coverage through the ACA, that simply would not have happened.

The ACA made it possible for me to leave my corporate, big-city job and return to Maine. Without it, I could not exist as I currently do — volunteering with our growing start-up while working part-time as an educator to at-risk and homeless youth.

Entrepreneurship demands risk and for many Mainers currently living elsewhere, the question of returning to Maine means creating your own employment opportunities, or combining multiple part-time roles. Without the ACA, that often means going without health insurance — a risk no one should be asked to take.

If Mainers wish to encourage entrepreneurship and retain our youth, we must protect the ACA.

I was incredibly disappointed to see Sen. Susan Collins take her first vote on the wrong side of the issue. The ACA creates avenues for creativity and growth that positively impact the economy and community, and I wish Collins understood the harm she’s doing to businesses and families.

Allie Smith, Poland