A space to not be "okay"

A bus, a vision & a 
whole lot of heart

Community Service Institute began when Dr. Frank Sacco Sr. and his brother Dr. Jim Sacco saw that as long-term hospitalization faded and outpatient mental health services emerged- clinics weren't meeting the needs of their community—particularly those facing financial hardship and lacking transportation. So, they did something different.

They launched the first community-based outpatient mental health clinic in the area, and pioneered the first Medicaid home-based therapy program. Their approach was simple yet revolutionary: go to the people instead of expecting them to come to the clinic.

Dr. Jim Sacco's training in educational psychology established him as an expert in dyselxia, learning disabilities, and organizational leadership. He served as a Dedham Public School principal before transitioning back to Western Mass to take over as the clinic director at CSI, and part-time consultant for The Department of Children Families.

The vision for Community Services Institute began during Dr. Sacco's graduate school project where he imagined a creative solution for delivering mental health services by converting an old school bus into "Big Daddy's Rolling Silly Bus," which picked up children from isolated rural communities for summer therapeutic activities. These experiences were integrated into his Doctoral Dissertation and first co-authored publication, Outreach Family Therapy (Clark, Zalis, & Sacco, 1982).