By AARON JIMENEZ
Capital News Service
LANSING – Eighteen organizations will use $3.4 million in opioid settlement money to purchase or lease an additional 20-40 recovery residences in 14 counties, adding an estimated 200-300 beds, state officials announced.
The state Department of Health and Human Services and the Michigan State Housing Development Authority are distributing the money through the Recovery Housing Investment Program.
“Beds” refers to housing capacity for people who are recovering from drug and alcohol abuse.
Michigan’s certified recovery housing beds grew from 379 in 2017 to 2,476 in 2024, according to the department. The state’s goal is 3,467 beds by the end of 2028.
Katie Abraham, a policy advisor for the department’s Opioids Task Force & Strategy, said the department conducted a data analysis before deciding where to send the money. The data showed significant waitlists for recovery housing, with shortages varying by county.
This year’s grants drew 48 proposals requesting about $12 million, said Zienab Fahs, the homeless grant specialist & recovery housing lead at the Housing Development Authority.
According to Fahs, applicants had to be certified. Newer organizations qualified by showing two years of experience working with people with substance use disorders or in a related field.
The department identified 17 counties with the greatest need, including Genesee, Ingham, Kent, Marquette and Wayne.
The rankings drew from overdose death data and behavioral health treatment records, Abraham said. Some awards went to counties outside the list, including Midland, Gladwin and Washtenaw.
The grants cover bedding, buying or leasing homes, renovations, furnishings and some operating costs. Grantees have about six months to find a property, Fahs said, and the program runs through September 2027.
“We definitely encourage grantees to renovate and prepare the property as if you or your family are moving in,” Fahs said.
Ten16 Recovery Network received money for 14 beds in Midland and Gladwin counties. The Midland-based organization plans to open a women’s house in Midland County and, if it finds a suitable property, expand to Gladwin County.
Sarah Cassidy, who manages Ten16’s recovery housing program, said the need is greatest for women.
“In this community, there’s very little recovery housing space specifically for women in the region,” Cassidy said. “We already have a seven-bed facility for women here in Midland, but that always has a waiting list.”
Ten16 has roughly 150 applications from people who are leaving jail, residential treatment or in unstable living situations and seeking housing, Cassidy said. Residents stay an average of about six months, so beds open slowly. The organization allows stays of up to two years for residents who are participating in a treatment-related program.
Catholic Social Services of the Upper Peninsula received money for six beds in Delta County. Carli Frailing, the organization’s director of development and communications, said the grant will help cover the lease on its Hosanna House in Escanaba.
Frailing said NorthCare Network pays for each resident’s first 45 days.
However, Catholic Social Services lost funding from its provider for several months this year,
“We were letting [residents] stay for 60 days free and we weren’t getting reimbursed for any of the 60 days,” Frailing said. “It ended up being a $70,000 loss.”
Funding resumed with the start of the new fiscal year, Frailing said.
In Marquette, Superior Connections Recovery Community Organization received money for eight beds.
Program supervisor Sarah Suardini said the organization will add one bed to its men’s house and hopefully open a women’s house.
Superior Connections does not receive any funding from NorthCare Network, Suardini said.
“It’s been years since we have [received funding]. We have basically stayed afloat between private donors and fundraising. Then we’ve been able to work and get a few grants these last couple of years to help us keep our heads above water,” Suardini said.
When asked about her organization’s biggest need from the state, Suardini said money
“If there’s not funding, there will not be recovery residences,” Suardini said.
“And if there’s no recovery residences, it’s going to continue to cost the jails, the court systems, the community, tons of resources, tons of money continuing to cycle people through,” she said.
This is the second round of the grant program. Previous awards added 136 beds at 18 organizations in six counties.
According to Abraham, the Department of Health and Human Services does not have a guaranteed third round of the program planned, though housing remains a priority.
Other options include direct investments in larger recovery housing and permanent supportive housing. The money comes from the state’s share of national opioid settlements with pharmaceutical companies, Abraham said.
Michigan expects to receive more than $1.8 billion by 2040, with half going to local governments. The Legislature appropriates the state’s portion each year, and Abraham said annual amounts are expected to shrink over time.
Fahs said the State Housing Development Authority will keep working to cover more of the state, but the need exceeds what the grants can fund.
“There’s always a need,” Fahs said. “We’ll definitely do our best to ensure that we continue to reach all the counties and full coverage of Michigan in these projects for years to come.”