Committee recommends contract with Fifth Coast Recovery for supportive housing funded by opioid settlement

The records and public safety committee recommended a contract with Fifth Coast Recovery LLC to provide supportive housing and residential treatment services aimed at people with co-occurring mental health and substance-use disorders.

Barb Katzke of Community Corrections told commissioners Fifth Coast was selected through an RFP process and that the contract would provide $116,000 for the remainder of the year and $200,000 for subsequent contract years. Katzke said the contract targets individuals with co-occurring needs both from the community and those transitioning from incarceration; funding is available from the county’s opioid settlement fund and the contract was included in the 2025 budget.

Commissioners asked why Fifth Coast was chosen over another bidder, LiveRight. Katzke said the proposals were “very similar” but that LiveRight’s per-month cost would have been about $15,000 per individual while Fifth Coast’s price was about $1,550 per month, a difference Katzke described as constraining capacity. Katzke said with LiveRight’s price the county could have placed only about three individuals a year under the available budget, whereas Fifth Coast’s pricing allows larger capacity; staff estimated average daily capacity at about 30 clients for the remainder of the year and 45 per year thereafter.

Committee members also asked about prior work with Fifth Coast; Katzke said Macomb County Office of Substance Abuse (Micosa) has an existing contracting relationship with Fifth Coast for a women’s specialty housing program and reported positive feedback from that relationship.

After questions, the committee voted to recommend the contract to the full board; the committee recorded a unanimous vote in favor.

No public speakers were recorded on the item during the committee discussion.