New facility for refugees and immigrants opens in Vancouver

VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – The new headquarters of non-profit organization MOSAIC have opened in Vancouver’s Collingwood neighbourhood, giving immigrants and refugees a space to access services.

Mayor Gregor Robertson and members of Vancouver City Council were on site today to cut the ribbon and officially open doors.

The newly opened facility at Wall Centre-Central Park boasts a 50 per cent increase over MOSAIC’s old centre of operations on Commercial Drive. Although MOSAIC is the operator of the centre and will provide all services, the City of Vancouver is on board as the official owner.

Giving organizations like MOSAIC a chance to grow and thrive is a big part of Vancouver living up to its identity, according to Robertson. He says the city is trying to prioritize available spaces so they can be put to similar uses.

“That’s a big part of what the city does with our buildings… when we see new development projects trying to get space included in them for our community organizations, it’s really important,” Robertson explains.

MOSAIC has a history in Metro Vancouver going back forty years. It is one of few specialized organizations which is able to offer immigrants and refugees a chance to access employment services, family and child programs, and settlement help among others with the main goal being a smooth transition to Canada.

The headquarters includes a meeting space which will be available to locals groups for free. Members hope the space and its services will help refugees and immigrants grow a community there.

Though it is based in the Collingwood neighbourhood, the non-profit also operates 26 other locations around the Lower Mainland.

More than 28,000 people were helped by MOSAIC in the last year.

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