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Annual Report 1998-1999
Settlement Services
This past year provided us with the opportunity to reflect on, articulate and integrate
our services to best respond to the considerable changes in community trends and issues
our staff have witnessed over the past few years. Our time of reflection proved to be a
very positive experience. It allowed us to enhance the capacity of our service delivery
and standardize our continuum of services by refining our computerized case management
information systems and developing new practice standards and procedures manuals.
Direct Services
Through 24,000 contacts, our 11 Bilingual Counsellors were able to assist some
7,000 clients/families. Although actual numbers and service contacts have not
shown a substantial increase from the previous year, the nature and complexity of
the community issues has shifted. A seasoned counsellor recently informed me that
…“We don’t just provide soft information/referral services to job finding clubs or
friendly telephone consultation with the welfare office anymore. We are dealing with
complex issues that require time, skill and additional supports.”
Family Support Programs
The agency’s commitment to supporting families and children for a healthy community
is unwavering. We participated in a number of community initiatives to advocate access
to services for immigrant and refugee families with children. This included the Windows
of Opportunity Project, the Infant Mental Health Project, and a cross-cultural expertise
project between the Canadian Red Cross and MOSAIC.
Building Blocks Vancouver taught us that open and inclusive
partnership can bridge organizational and professional culture in order to support
young parents from diverse communities. The project team has worked on a comprehensive
practice and procedures manual to ensure the safety of all partners–including
participating community partners–in this home-visitation program.
Family Counselling Services
During the past year, the program began delivering culturally-sensitive counselling
in a safe environment for families from diverse communities. The development of a
peer support and co-counselling model helped establish a strong partnership between
the clinical family counsellor and the Bilingual Counsellors. It integrates the
standard practices of the counselling profession with the experience and expertise
of the bicultural and bilingual community workers.
Highlights of the program include: family counselling training, the development
of a practice and procedures manual, and the development of an evaluation plan
in collaboration with the Vancouver/Richmond Health Board. Although demanding,
this experience has been rewarding for staff.
Domestic Violence Prevention
It has been over six years since MOSAIC developed an ethno-specific treatment program
for men. While the program was initially designed for Indo-Canadian men, it has long
been the agency’s objective to expand the service to other communities. This year,
funds were allocated to train community facilitators on issues of domestic violence.
Subsequently, we were able to pilot a creative treatment program that combined the
resources of an experienced facilitator with the new trainees.
Community Outreach
Through our outreach and volunteer programming activities, we continued to play
a key role in community capacity building. Significant in this regard was the
opening of the “MOSAIC Community Room” which will provide a comfortable, inspiring
environment for community use. Other initiatives include the Vietnamese Coordination
of Services Project, the Immigrant/Refugee Women’s Circle of Learning Forum, and
the sharing of experiences on integrating newcomers into the Canadian concept of
“volunteerism”.
Ultimately, this year of reflection provided the impetus to help us consolidate
our years of experiences in service delivery with diverse communities. The
commitment and dedication of staff has made this transitional process much less
painful. It was another gratifying year to be part of an open and inclusive process
that had, at its center, the interest of the communities with whom we work.
Eyob Naizghi
Director
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