▩ Press Statement

LANSING, Mich., Oct. 6, 2025 — After months of negotiations, the Michigan Legislature approved the final FY 2025-26 budget, a $78 billion plan to keep schools funded, protect health care and support Michigan families. State Rep. Kristian Grant (D-Grand Rapids) also secured $400,000 for Mel Trotter Ministries’ Hope Village on Garden Street, where 16 tiny homes and a workforce training center will help residents move from crisis to stability.

After the vote, Grant issued the following statement:

“This budget is about stability for our residents and neighborhoods. At a moment when federal cuts to health care threatened to strip more than $7 billion from Michigan, we stood firm to protect Medicaid, SNAP and our local hospitals that serve residents every day. Similarly, in Grand Rapids, families tell me about the pressure they feel — rising rents, the struggle to find safe housing and worries about whether their children will have a healthy meal at school. That is why, among other things, I fought to secure $400,000 for the Hope Village project with Mel Trotter Ministries, where affordable homes and workforce training will give families a path from crisis to stability.

“I am also proud that this budget secures record funding for our schools — $10,050 per pupil, $200 million for universal meals, and $321 million for school safety and mental health. It expands pre-K and increases support for at-risk students and English learners by 25%. For Grand Rapids kids, that means stronger classrooms, healthier learning environments and more opportunities to succeed.

“Our responsibility as legislators is to be trustees of the public’s well-being, and that means ensuring every family has the foundation to succeed: a home that’s affordable, streets that are safe, schools that are strong and health care that is accessible. This budget reflects those priorities. It is not perfect, and it comes in the shadow of federal decisions that will make our work harder, but I am proud that we delivered a plan that keeps housing supports in place, invests in health care for our region and gives Grand Rapids families the stability they deserve.”

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