The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services plans to invest $38 million in housing support for Michigan residents recovering from substance abuse disorder. The funding is a part of the allocated Substance Abuse Disorder prevention measures for harm reduction, treatment and recovery services.

The state recently found about 7,500 people left treatment without stable housing. The funding will support about 3,400 recovery housing beds by 2028—a 40% increase.

Michigan will receive $1.8 billion from opioid settlements by the year 2040. Half of the funding will be distributed to the State of Michigan Opioid Healing and Recovery Fund while the other half will be distributed to county, city and township governments.  

The Michigan Association of Recovery Residencies survey found that providing recovery housing assistance helped people get and keep a job as part of their road to recovery.  

Additional headlines from Monday, December 8, 2025

Health insurance

There’s about a month left to apply for health care coverage through the Affordable Care Act.

The Michigan Department of Insurance and Financial Services (DIFS) is reminding Michigan residents to purchase health insurance by Dec. 15 to have coverage by Jan. 1. People who apply after that by Jan. 15 will not get coverage until Feb. 1.

DIFS Director Anita Fox says people should shop around for the most cost-effective plan with the best coverage. People can visit healthcare.gov or call 800-318-2596 for assistance.  

Loneliness on the rise for adults

A recent study by the American Association of Retired Persons or AARP found loneliness among adults 45 years and older increased to about 40%. That’s a 5% increase since 2018.  

Heather Nawrocki is the Vice President of Fun and Fulfillment for AARP. She says people have fewer friends and their social networks are smaller than they used to be. She says men have higher rates of loneliness compared to women. 

“They’re just not getting out of the house as much. They don’t have as many close friends and they’re not joining community organizations, clubs or pursuing interests with others the same way as perhaps they did before.”  

Nawrocki says the study also found people are volunteering less frequently, leading to less social interaction. 

She says it’s important to check on friends and loved ones to rekindle relationships for social health which also impacts health, happiness, and longevity. 

Film Detroit event

Film Detroit is hosting a free film experience this month.

Attendees will learn how to build video production skills, including how to create trailers and teasers. People will also be able to sing karaoke with the Karaoke Kingz.

They will have access to onsite film resources and permit support. The event takes place Dec. 22 from 5-8 p.m. at the Northwest Activities Center located at 18100 Meyers Rd.

Visit detroitmi.gov/filmdetroit for more information.  

Listen to the latest episode of the “Detroit Evening Report” on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, NPR.org or wherever you get your podcasts.

Hamtramck has a vibrant arts scene. In duplexes around the city, you can hear people playing in a local band or practicing their comedy. 

Those people are often young and queer. 

Hamtramck Queer Alliance is making sure its presence is known and spreading the word, supporting the education and advocacy of all gender and sexual minorities, who are often involved in creative spaces.

Passenger Recovery was founded in 2016 with the goal of helping traveling artists maintain sobriety with tools and resources to allow for safe experiences on the road.  

Now, the artistic and sobriety space, Recovery Community Center, is trying to do even more to foster and protect local and visiting talent, and to expand its programming. They’ve found they often partner with the Hamtramck Queer Alliance, providing a safe space for all sorts of communities in the area. 

Bryan Wolf is the Director of Passenger Recovery and Passenger Radio, a music and sound professional and educator. Tim Price is Outreach and Marketing Director of Social Media for Passenger Radio WHCK. He is also the founder and curator of the Christopher Street Gallery in Hamtramck.

Bryan and Tim joined The Metro to talk more about what’s being happening in Hamtramck’s arts and culture scene.

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When Mike Duggan was sworn in as Detroit’s mayor more than a decade ago, much of the city was in the dark. Four out of every 10 streetlights didn’t work. His administration rebuilt the grid and relit neighborhoods block by block.

Blight became another target. Crews tore down thousands of abandoned houses that posed safety risks. With hundreds of millions in federal relief, Duggan stabilized the budget and funded neighborhood programs. Meanwhile, the city’s violent crime rate eased: just over 200 homicides last year, the lowest number since the mid-1960s.

Other markers point to momentum. Detroit’s population has inched up for two years in a row — rare for a city that has seen decades of decline. Moody’s even restored Detroit’s investment-grade bond rating. 

Duggan highlights these milestones when he calls himself “a fixer.”

But Detroit’s recovery is uneven.

Roughly one in three residents lived in poverty last year — the highest rate since 2017. The city has yet to fully address an estimated $600 million in property-tax overassessments that forced many families from their homes.

Housing, overall, remains scarce. A city-commissioned study estimates Detroit needs more than 40,000 additional affordable rental homes for households earning under $25,000 a year — a 45,200-unit gap as of 2021.

The broader picture is mixed: while downtown investment is visible, many neighborhoods still face population loss and a lack of basic infrastructure.

Still, compared with the Detroit Duggan inherited in 2014, the city holds more promise today, and much of that transformation happened under his watch.

Now Duggan wants to take his record statewide. He’s running for governor of Michigan in 2026 as an independent — and asking voters across the state to buy into his version of Detroit’s turnaround.

The mayor joined Robyn Vincent on The Metro to discuss how he thinks his strategies can scale statewide.

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When women actors in Hollywood called out other actors and executives who committed some form of sexual violence against them, the whole world took notice. Survivors were finally being heard and it sparked the #MeToo era, in which accusations of sexual misconduct were heard more than ever before.

In Michigan, decades of abuse by sports doctor Larry Nassar came to light around the same time. A few years ago, the University of Michigan agreed to a settlement worth $490 million, with over one thousand people saying they were sexually assaulted by the late physician Robert Anderson.     

According to a 2018 survey by the National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 81% of women and 43% of men reported experiencing some form of sexual harassment and/or assault in their lifetime. 

It’s also important to note that many survivors are harmed by someone they know, someone close to them. In the US, 24 people per minute are victims of rape, physical violence or stalking by an intimate partner, according to the National Intimate Partner and Sexual Violence survey.

So how far have we come when it comes to having conversations about domestic violence and abuse to prevent it from happening? And what kind of support does a survivor need to work through their trauma? 

Kalimah Johnson is the Founder, CEO and Executive Director of the Sexual Assault Services for Holistic Healing and Awareness (SASHA) Center, which provides services for sexual assault recovery, prevention, and educational agency. Kalimah is also a consultant on relationship safety and management.

We spoke with Kalimah about the SASHA center and the importance of the language we use when talking about sexual violence, specifically against Black women. We also learned about the upcoming fifth edition of a back-to-school program hosted by the SASHA center.

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For years, pharmaceutical companies have pushed drugs onto people and doctors, increasing addiction rates and overdose deaths in Michigan and across the country.

Last month, a national settlement with Purdue Pharma created new funds for drug treatment in Michigan. The state is expected to receive $154 million over 15 years. The new funds will go to a larger pot of money from additional national settlements with opioid manufacturers and distributors. 

The money comes at a really pivotal time. Michigan is set to lose over $90 million from cuts to federal grants for substance use disorder programs, according to the Michigan Health and Human Services Department. 

Where will the state’s new opioid money go? And, what do we need to do to both prevent addiction deaths in the short run, and prevent addiction entirely in the long run?

Founder of The Recovery Collective in West Bloomfield Steve Norris joined Robyn Vincent to discuss.

Listen to The Metro weekdays from 10 a.m. to noon ET on 101.9 FM and streaming on-demand.

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