Rep. Schmaltz seeks funding for Andy’s Angels to expand life-saving recovery housing

State Rep. Kathy Schmaltz this week testified alongside Andy’s Angels founder Mike Hirst in support of a proposed $5 million state grant to expand the organization’s work helping individuals overcome substance use disorders and rebuild their lives.

The funding, requested by Schmaltz through the state budget process, would support operational costs at Andy’s Place in Jackson and help launch new recovery housing developments in other areas of the state.

“Andy’s Place has changed lives and brought families back together,” said Schmaltz, R-Jackson. “It gives people a second chance. The demand for this kind of program is overwhelming, and the success speaks for itself. It’s a model we need to expand across Michigan.”

Andy’s Place apartments opened in Jackson in 2020, offering 50 fully furnished, rent-subsidized apartments to individuals and families referred through Michigan’s recovery courts. Residents sign annual leases that require sobriety and are supported by on-site staff, peer-support programs, and wraparound recovery services. With a relapse rate of less than 2%, the results have been extraordinary.

Thanks to an investment by the Legislature in the 2024-25 state budget, Andy’s Place II recently opened, offering 26 additional apartment units in Jackson.

The $5 million grant proposed for the 2025-26 state budget would allow the program to meet growing demand by building additional facilities in Kalamazoo and Southfield, while maintaining its operations in Jackson.

Mike Hirst started Andy’s Angels after losing his son Andy to a heroin overdose in 2010. Since then, the organization has become a national model.

“We’ve put together something that nobody else in the entire country has,” Hirst said. “Michigan has led the way, and now other states are reaching out to learn how to replicate our success.

“If we want to break the cycle of generational poverty and substance abuse, we need more facilities like Andy’s Place. Some of these kids have never been exposed to a really nice apartment with a really nice playground, with no drug activity and no alcohol activity going on around them. That changes everything.”

Schmaltz said she will continue advocating for the grant as lawmakers work to finalize the state budget in the coming weeks.