Dear Neighbor,

Welcome to my latest e-newsletter! Included in this edition are some important legislative and community updates, along with a few resources I hope will prove helpful. Please do not hesitate to reach out to my office by phone at (517) 373-0144 or email at AlabasFarhat@house.mi.gov for questions about these or any other state-level issues.

Sincerely,

Alabas A. Farhat

State Representative, 3rd House District

Upcoming Events

Coffee Hour

Our coffee hours are paused for July and August. I look forward to seeing all of you in September! Our new location will be Family Bakery (17032 W. Warren Ave. in Detroit) on the third Friday of each month at 11 a.m.

 

Budget Updates

State Budget Reinvests in Michigan

The Michigan House of Representatives passed the “Make it in Michigan” budget, marking a significant reinvestment in the people of Michigan. The School Aid budget — the largest in Michigan’s history — expands access to free preschool and provides free breakfast and lunch to every public school student. It also includes robust support for at-risk youth, mental health services, before- and after-school programs and so much more. There is no better investment than our kids, and this budget puts our state on a path to a bright future.

Text reads "The largest school aid budget in Michigan's history: Reinvesting in our kids." A young Black child at right celebrates with a fist pump.

The state budget puts unspent dollars from the American Rescue Plan Act to work repairing roads, bridges and water infrastructure throughout the entire state to ensure that money is used in Michigan instead of being sent back to the federal government. Hundreds of millions will go toward lead line remediation and local road repairs. This budget prioritizes the health of Michiganders through increasing wages for direct care workers, providing incentives to expand our behavioral health care workforce, funding sickle cell disease treatment and so much more. We included substantial support for public safety, helping us graduate dozens of Michigan State Police troopers, upgrading their resources, providing specific mental health support for first responders and addressing gun case backlogs in Detroit and Wayne County. These investments will help us clean up contaminated sites, address PFAS and emerging contaminants and protect the precious ecosystem of the Great Lakes.

I worked with our state senators to secure over $150 million for District 3 and neighboring communities.

  • Public safety: $15.5 million
  • Fighting substance use disorder: $14.5 million
  • Prioritizing seniors: $6.6 million
  • Supporting our community: $17.5 million
  • Focusing on health: $22.7 million
  • Strengthening community infrastructure: $25 million
  • Increasing higher education funding: $4 million

These are just a few highlights of this incredibly exciting budget. These reinvestments mark a new chapter for our state. I can’t wait to see how they pay off in the months, years and decades to come.

News Updates

$5,000 Available for MI Communities Through Disaster Preparedness Grants

The Michigan Community Service Commission is offering $5,000 in grant funding for Michigan communities to develop a volunteer and donations management plan to be used in times of disaster.

Applicants will be expected to provide training to local partners to understand how to prepare and respond to a disaster in collaboration with the community.

Eligible Applicants

  • 501c3 nonprofits; school districts; colleges and universities; local, county and regional governments and faith-based and other collaborative organizations.
  • Applicants should be able to serve as a backbone organization and develop collaboration among community organizations in the planning process.

Use of Funds

  • Consultant services, communication templates for emergencies and disasters, stakeholder planning meetings, recruitment and training of volunteers who will serve in a disaster and technology necessary to implement volunteer and donations management.

For full guidelines and to apply before the Sept. 5 deadline, visit the Michigan Community Service Commission website.

Growing Michigan Together Council Appointment

I am pleased to share that last month I was appointed to the Growing Michigan Together Council to serve as a Democratic member of the Michigan House of Representatives and a voting member under the age of 25. Led by four workgroups, the council will hold several meetings over the next few months, hearing from Michiganders firsthand. The council has been tasked with developing a statewide strategy to grow Michigan’s population and economy.