Andy’s Place Provides Housing, Programs for People to Recover From Addiction

Andy’s Place addresses the need for long-term affordable housing combined with on-site support services for individuals suffering from opioid and other addictions.

Located in Jackson, Michigan, it is the first permanent supportive recovery housing in the nation that incorporates the drug treatment courts, according to the project partners. The drug courts work to treat addiction as a complex disease and not just a criminal issue, and officials have found that the lack of affordable, stable housing is often a big obstacle to recovery.

Andy’s Place helps to fill that void, providing 39 one-bedroom apartments for individuals and a separate building with 11 two-bedroom apartments for families earning no more than 30% and 50% of the area median income. Residents are referred through the courts, which also fund and manage on-site services, including case management and recovery programs.

“Jackson County has 160,000 people, and, prior to the pandemic, every three days there was an opioid-related death,” says Mitch Milner, president of Milner and Caringella, the firm that developed Andy’s Place along with the Community Action Agency of Jackson.

Andy’s Place differs from the traditional sober halfway house model by providing full apartments that allow for families to remain intact, annual leases, and no limitation on length of stay.

The development, which was completed in January, is a model for three other projects proposed in the state, says Milner.

The $13.1 million development was financed with low-income housing tax credit equity investment from Cinnaire accounting for over 80% of project financing. Andy’s Place received additional funding from private partners, including $50,000 from Andy’s Angels, a nonprofit formed to educate the community about opiate abuse and provide support for families and those suffering from addiction.