From its stormy beginnings in 1976, the MOSAIC of the 2000s has firmly established itself as a worthwhile and reputable organization serving the Greater Vancouver area. Since its birth, MOSAIC has changed in several important ways.

MOSAIC came into being with the amalgamation of two separate organizations, Multilingual Social Services and Language Aid to Ethnic Groups. Both had developed in response to the growing awareness of the daily problems faced by non-English speaking residents in the Greater Vancouver area.

Multilingual Social Services began in January 1972. The Grandview-Woodlands inter-agency team saw a need to reach out to the many immigrants in the area. The YWCA then sponsored a grant, Project Contact, which was intended to bridge the language and cultural barriers between non-English speaking people and the community. Out of this original project, Multilingual Information Services was developed. Its name was later changed to Multilingual Social Services as its focus shifted towards linking non-English speaking people to social services agencies.

Language Aid for Ethnic Groups, based in the Downtown Eastside, also began in 1972. Four women of different ethnic backgrounds planned the project while reflecting on the difficulties each had in adjusting to Canadian society. The project was started independent of outside help. They provided information, referral, counselling, interpretation, and home visiting services to immigrants.

Both agencies struggled from grant to grant and for a time had no funding with which to operate. As well, they had to overcome the initial resistance of social service professionals and ethnic people themselves.

In April of 1976, acting on the request of the then Department of Manpower and Immigration, the two organizations amalgamated into a new society, MOSAIC (Multilingual Orientation Service Association for Immigrant Communities).

MOSAIC became an incorporated non-profit society and a registered charity.

A Current Perspective

Today, MOSAIC has blossomed into a $5 million dollar organization with over 120 staff and 250 contractors. Services offered include interpretation, translation, English classes, employment programs, community outreach/development programs, family support programs and bilingual and family counselling.

The goals of MOSAIC remain the same as its founding sisters:

• to be community-based;
• to have bilingual staff;
• to offer services to non-English speaking people in Greater Vancouver.
  

MOSAIC
1720 Grant St., 2^nd Floor • Vancouver, B.C. V5L 2Y7
Tel.: (604) 254-9626 • Fax: (604) 254-3932
E-mail: mosaic@mosaicbc.com

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