They were worlds apart in life. Heath Ledger, a Hollywood actor. Simon Millington, a qualified auto-electrician and the son of duck farmers from country Victoria. But both men, the doting fathers of little girls, died just years apart from the same phenomenon - the abuse of prescription drugs, described as an epidemic in Australia by anti-drug abuse groups. Now Kim Ledger, the late Academy Award winner's father, has joined an effort to fight prescription drug abuse after he was moved by a 'heartwrenching' letter from Simon's mother, Margaret. The letter said Simon 'wanted to stay well for Maddie', his young daughter, 'but the hideous disease of addiction slowly crept back up again' and he died of a pain medication overdose in 2010. 'His life mattered,' Margaret wrote, 'and that is why I do what I do for others in similar circumstances.' Scroll down for video . Rest in peace: Heath Ledger, pictured, died after consuming six pharmaceutical medications in August 2008 . 'His life mattered': Simon Millington, pictured here with his young daughter Maddie, died in 2010 after a sixteen year fight with prescription drugs which he became addicted to after being caught in a car accident in August 1994 . Accomplished actor: Heath Ledger 'immersed' himself in the role of the Joker, his father has said, in preparation for his role in The Dark Knight (pictured). He was posthumously awarded an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor after the performance and his death . Kim Ledger, Heath's father, has been involved in efforts to increase awareness about the dangers of prescription drug abuse since his son's death in August 2008. His latest position is as Patron of the not-for-profit Scriptwise . Mr Ledger's own son accidentally died around two years earlier after he consumed a lethal cocktail of six prescription medications. The 28-year-old actor was found dead in his Manhattan apartment, shortly after completing filming for The Dark Knight, where he starred as The Joker. 'He was just desperately trying to get to sleep,' Mr Ledger said. After receiving the emotional letter from Margaret and John Millington from Nhill, Victoria, and hosting a follow-up meeting with them last year, Mr Ledger today announced he will be the patron of the new not-for-profit Scriptwise, which will raise awareness about the dangers and solutions to prescription drug abuse. 'I met Margaret and John Millington last year... Margaret had reached out to me about maybe a year earlier or so with a little note, a letter really, a lovely letter that was quite compelling,' he said. 'It was explaining what they had to go through (with Simon). It was really quite heartwrenching.' In a statement, Mr Ledger said his son's profile was probably 'a little higher than many other loved ones' who had experienced tragic deaths from prescription drug abuse. 'If something positive can come from (Heath's) passing such as raising awareness of the problem and moving towards some form of live monitoring for prescription medication, then my job is done.' Margaret and John have lobbied the government in favour of measures to crack down on prescription drug abuse since Simon's death. Simon had grappled with an addiction to pain medication for some sixteen years, Mrs Millington told Daily Mail Australia, following a devastating car accident in August 1994, when he was just 18-years-old. Heath Ledger was posthumously awarded the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in the film The Dark Knight, following his stellar performance . Simon Millington was caught in a car accident in 1994. As a result of his accident and his recovery, Mr Millington became addicted to pain killers and other medications, including 'benzos and opiates', his mother said . Mr Ledger said: 'They've done a great job - others around them have too - but those people who were the ones who influenced me enough to get involved in the project.' Mrs Millington told Daily Mail Australia she was touched by the praise from Mr Ledger. 'We caught up with him in Perth late last year,' Mrs Millington said. 'We've spent a lot of time sharing our stories about our sons... 'There's often times only the people who have been through it understand what we've been going through.' Heath Ledger died of an overdose in August 2008 after consuming a lethal cocktail of six different prescription medications. Mr and Mrs Millington have worked hard to raise awareness about prescription drug abuse in regional Victoria. They are lobbying for a mandatory national Real Time Monitoring System to help stem the epidemic. Scriptwise said pharmaceutical drugs were linked to 82 per cent of overdose deaths in Victoria in 2013 alone. For the past three years I have been a volunteer on the Wimmera Drug Action Task Force, the subcommittee I am on is the 'Problematic Use & Misuse of Prescription Medications' (see terms of reference attached). You may ask why Kim? Well in 1994, my 18-year-old son suffered critical injuries in a single car accident. As a result of his injuries, and subsequent operations he became addicted to pain killers & other medications of all different sorts & varieties including Benzos & opiates. You may well be aware of the trauma on families trying to assist, live with, and save a loved one who is on huge amounts of the above. Simon was on a rollercoaster for 16 years, many times he went though rehabs and 'got well' however the merry-go-round continued and we found ourselves and our lives had become as unmanageable as Simon's. We sought help from a family support group, Nar Anon, and we found if we were 'tooled up' and implemented strategies & boundaries in our lives we could 'cope'. Tough love became the order of the day and there were times when we felt we pushed Simon too far with our rules however, when we changed and did not enable him, he too changed for the better. 'I remember I once packed his things and asked him to leave home as it was us or his meds. He denied taking anything but his pupils & unloving behaviour told us otherwise. That was the hardest thing I ever had to do but it was worth the risk to help save him. You see Kim, we had already lost a 2 year old daughter in a farm accident in 1980 & an 18 year old son in a motorbike accident in 2004. We were determined to save Sime. In 2008, whilst in yet another rehab, Simon discovered he was the father of a four-year-old girl . He was overjoyed as we were also as we thought this would be the turning point for him. Simon graduated from the rehab in 6 months and decided to come home and work on our farm and also volunteer at the rehab to help others. He lived at home and his little girl lived us for some of the week as well. Simon was an amazing and doting dad, he wanted to stay well for Maddie. We thought the bad times were behind us but the hideous disease of addiction slowly crept back into our lives again. His visits home become less and less and the doctor shopping started again. After a long and worrying time we lost our battle to keep Sime alive and he died of an overdose of Oxycontin in 2010. His life mattered and that is why I do what I do for others in similar circumstances. Of his son Heath, Kim Ledger said: 'If something positive can come from (Heath's) passing such as raising awareness of the problem and moving towards some form of live monitoring for prescription medication, then my job is done'
Heath Ledger's father Kim is the patron of a new effort to raise awareness about prescription drug abuse .
He got on board after receiving a 'heartwrenching' letter from the mother of a drug abuse victim .
'His life mattered,' wrote victim's mother, Margaret Millington, who influenced Mr Ledger to sign up .
Mr Ledger told Daily Mail Australia their letter was what influenced him to sign up to the effort .
He was today appointed the Patron of a new not-for-profit to fight prescription drug abuse, Scriptwise .
They were worlds apart in life. Heath Ledger, a Hollywood actor. Simon Millington, a qualified auto-electrician and the son of duck farmers from country Victoria. But both men, the doting fathers of little girls, died just years apart from the same phenomenon - the abuse of prescription drugs, described as an epidemic in Australia by anti-drug abuse groups. Now Kim Ledger, the late Academy Award winner's father, has joined an effort to fight prescription drug abuse after he was moved by a 'heartwrenching' letter from Simon's mother, Margaret. The letter said Simon 'wanted to stay well for Maddie', his young daughter, 'but the hideous disease of addiction slowly crept back up again' and he died of a pain medication overdose in 2010. 'His life mattered,' Margaret wrote, 'and that is why I do what I do for others in similar circumstances.' Scroll down for video . Rest in peace: Heath Ledger, pictured, died after consuming six pharmaceutical medications in August 2008 . 'His life mattered': Simon Millington, pictured here with his young daughter Maddie, died in 2010 after a sixteen year fight with prescription drugs which he became addicted to after being caught in a car accident in August 1994 . Accomplished actor: Heath Ledger 'immersed' himself in the role of the Joker, his father has said, in preparation for his role in The Dark Knight (pictured). He was posthumously awarded an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor after the performance and his death . Kim Ledger, Heath's father, has been involved in efforts to increase awareness about the dangers of prescription drug abuse since his son's death in August 2008. His latest position is as Patron of the not-for-profit Scriptwise . Mr Ledger's own son accidentally died around two years earlier after he consumed a lethal cocktail of six prescription medications. The 28-year-old actor was found dead in his Manhattan apartment, shortly after completing filming for The Dark Knight, where he starred as The Joker. 'He was just desperately trying to get to sleep,' Mr Ledger said. After receiving the emotional letter from Margaret and John Millington from Nhill, Victoria, and hosting a follow-up meeting with them last year, Mr Ledger today announced he will be the patron of the new not-for-profit Scriptwise, which will raise awareness about the dangers and solutions to prescription drug abuse. 'I met Margaret and John Millington last year... Margaret had reached out to me about maybe a year earlier or so with a little note, a letter really, a lovely letter that was quite compelling,' he said. 'It was explaining what they had to go through (with Simon). It was really quite heartwrenching.' In a statement, Mr Ledger said his son's profile was probably 'a little higher than many other loved ones' who had experienced tragic deaths from prescription drug abuse. 'If something positive can come from (Heath's) passing such as raising awareness of the problem and moving towards some form of live monitoring for prescription medication, then my job is done.' Margaret and John have lobbied the government in favour of measures to crack down on prescription drug abuse since Simon's death. Simon had grappled with an addiction to pain medication for some sixteen years, Mrs Millington told Daily Mail Australia, following a devastating car accident in August 1994, when he was just 18-years-old. Heath Ledger was posthumously awarded the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in the film The Dark Knight, following his stellar performance . Simon Millington was caught in a car accident in 1994. As a result of his accident and his recovery, Mr Millington became addicted to pain killers and other medications, including 'benzos and opiates', his mother said . Mr Ledger said: 'They've done a great job - others around them have too - but those people who were the ones who influenced me enough to get involved in the project.' Mrs Millington told Daily Mail Australia she was touched by the praise from Mr Ledger. 'We caught up with him in Perth late last year,' Mrs Millington said. 'We've spent a lot of time sharing our stories about our sons... 'There's often times only the people who have been through it understand what we've been going through.' Heath Ledger died of an overdose in August 2008 after consuming a lethal cocktail of six different prescription medications. Mr and Mrs Millington have worked hard to raise awareness about prescription drug abuse in regional Victoria. They are lobbying for a mandatory national Real Time Monitoring System to help stem the epidemic. Scriptwise said pharmaceutical drugs were linked to 82 per cent of overdose deaths in Victoria in 2013 alone. For the past three years I have been a volunteer on the Wimmera Drug Action Task Force, the subcommittee I am on is the 'Problematic Use & Misuse of Prescription Medications' (see terms of reference attached). You may ask why Kim? Well in 1994, my 18-year-old son suffered critical injuries in a single car accident. As a result of his injuries, and subsequent operations he became addicted to pain killers & other medications of all different sorts & varieties including Benzos & opiates. You may well be aware of the trauma on families trying to assist, live with, and save a loved one who is on huge amounts of the above. Simon was on a rollercoaster for 16 years, many times he went though rehabs and 'got well' however the merry-go-round continued and we found ourselves and our lives had become as unmanageable as Simon's. We sought help from a family support group, Nar Anon, and we found if we were 'tooled up' and implemented strategies & boundaries in our lives we could 'cope'. Tough love became the order of the day and there were times when we felt we pushed Simon too far with our rules however, when we changed and did not enable him, he too changed for the better. 'I remember I once packed his things and asked him to leave home as it was us or his meds. He denied taking anything but his pupils & unloving behaviour told us otherwise. That was the hardest thing I ever had to do but it was worth the risk to help save him. You see Kim, we had already lost a 2 year old daughter in a farm accident in 1980 & an 18 year old son in a motorbike accident in 2004. We were determined to save Sime. In 2008, whilst in yet another rehab, Simon discovered he was the father of a four-year-old girl . He was overjoyed as we were also as we thought this would be the turning point for him. Simon graduated from the rehab in 6 months and decided to come home and work on our farm and also volunteer at the rehab to help others. He lived at home and his little girl lived us for some of the week as well. Simon was an amazing and doting dad, he wanted to stay well for Maddie. We thought the bad times were behind us but the hideous disease of addiction slowly crept back into our lives again. His visits home become less and less and the doctor shopping started again. After a long and worrying time we lost our battle to keep Sime alive and he died of an overdose of Oxycontin in 2010. His life mattered and that is why I do what I do for others in similar circumstances. Of his son Heath, Kim Ledger said: 'If something positive can come from (Heath's) passing such as raising awareness of the problem and moving towards some form of live monitoring for prescription medication, then my job is done'
has joined an effort to fight prescription drug abuse after he was moved by a 'heartwrenching' letter from Simon's mother, Margaret. The letter latest position is as Patron of the not-for-profit Scriptwise . Mr Ledger's own son Ledger today announced he will be the patron of the new not-for-profit Scriptwise, which will years, Mrs Millington told Daily Mail Australia, awareness about prescription drug abuse in discovered he was the father of a four-year-old overdose of Oxycontin in 2010. His life mattered