KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — Kalamazoo Community Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services has announced that it will have a new name beginning October 1st.
The organization, which helps people with issues like mental and substance abuse problems, will now be known as the Integrated Services of Kalamazoo (ISK).
“In recent years, we’ve extended our services to include comprehensive housing assistance and outreach to homeless persons, crisis response to opioid overdoses, veteran services, stigma-reduction efforts and community training in Mental Health First Aid,” CEO of KCMHSAS Jeff Patton explained in a press release. “‘Integrated Services of Kalamazoo builds on our agency’s current name-recognition and reflects our ongoing collaboration with community partners.”
The new name is meant to imply a wide range of services for patients without singling out any specific disease. It also does away with the term “substance abuse,” which the organization believes to be stigmatizing.
“Integrated Services of Kalamazoo is also much shorter, quicker to say and easier to abbreviate,” Patton said. “We’ve expanded our services but streamlined our name. I think that’s a fair trade.”
The name change will go into effect at the beginning of October. All services and staff members will remain the same.
