MOSAIC
An Historical Perspective

From its stormy beginnings in 1972, the MOSAIC of the 1990’s 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 - the Multilingual Social Services and the 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.

The Multilingual Social Services began in January 1972. The Grandview-Woodlands inter-agency team felt that there was a need to reach out to the large number of immigrants in the area. The YWCA then sponsored a grant known as the 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 Service was developed and later changed its name to Multilingual Social Service as its focus shifted towards linking non-English speaking people to social services agencies.

Language Aid for Ethnic Groups was based in the downtown eastside and began in 1972 when four women of different ethnic backgrounds planned the project while reflecting on the difficulties each had in adjusting to a new (Canadian) society. After achieving their own orientation, they felt they were in a position to help those less fortunate than themselves. The project was started independently of any outside organization. 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 the ethnic people themselves.

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