The appropriation will fund supportive housing services as a cost-effective model to address homelessness and housing instability.
For Immediate Release | Contact Jesse Dean, [email protected] or 347-931-0132
June 28, 2024 | New York, NY – Yesterday morning, the Michigan legislature passed a state budget after an overnight vote. The budget includes a historic $20 million for supportive services, championed by Senator Jeff Irwin, Representative Felicia Brabec, CSH, Avalon Housing, and housing and service provider advocates across the state.
“We are incredibly grateful to Michigan legislators for recognizing the critical role supportive services play in solving homelessness,” said Catherine Distelrath, Michigan Director at CSH. “This represents a powerful investment in our communities, equipping supportive housing providers with the resources needed to deploy services that can help people achieve lasting housing stability.”
“When people are stably housed, we see less people in crisis in our emergency rooms, jails, and community mental health services – reducing the strain on these services. This approach improves lives and saves money long-term, and I’m excited about how this infusion of dollars will help people in Michigan,” said Senator Jeff Irwin.
“Along with many other supportive housing providers across the state, Avalon Housing works tirelessly to provide high quality services to our residents to help them maintain housing stability and thrive in their community”, said Aaron Cooper, Executive Director at Avalon Housing. “We are ecstatic about the state’s commitment of resources to this cause.”
The appropriation will provide grants to supportive housing services providers across the state and builds on the $6 million appropriation for the Supportive Services Pilot program the legislature passed in 2022. The funding will provide housing-related services for both people living in supportive housing and people experiencing homelessness who move into supportive housing and who need additional support to maintain housing stability.
The budget proposal was in response to CSH’s Supportive Services Transformation Fund (SSTF) model, which received sign-on support from seventy-seven housing and service organizations and more than fifty individuals, which helped to demonstrate the dire need for these resources across the state.
“CSH thanks Gov. Whitmer, Sen. Irwin, Rep. Brabec, and Health and Human Services Appropriation Sub-Committee Chairs Sen. Santana and Rep. Morse for their leadership and recognizing that supportive housing is a cost-effective, proven solution for addressing homelessness,” said Deborah De Santis, CSH President and CEO. “Michigan is leading by example and creating a road map for other states to replicate to address critical service gaps that prevent people from thriving in housing and ending their cycle of homelessness.”
The budget, which is a significant step towards addressing homelessness and housing instability, is now pending Gov. Whitmer’s signature.
About CSH
CSH (Corporation for Supportive Housing) advances affordable and accessible housing aligned with services by advocating for effective policies and funding, equitably investing in communities, and strengthening the supportive housing field. Since our founding in 1991, CSH has been the only national nonprofit intermediary focused solely on increasing the availability of supportive housing. Over the course of our work, we have created more than 467,600 units of affordable and supportive housing and distributed over $1.5 billion in loans and grants. Our workforce is central to accomplishing this work. We employ approximately 170 people across 30 states and U.S. Territories. As an intermediary, we do not directly develop or operate housing but center our approach on collaboration with a wide range of people, partners, and sectors. For more information, visit www.csh.org.
Correction 7/1/2024: This version has been corrected to cite Aaron Cooper as Executive Director of Avalon Housing and not CEO as was previously stated in error.
