Creating Connections, Breaking Barriers

Back in the 1930s and 1940s, two distinct groups existed for those with a hearing loss and deafness in BC: the Vancouver Adult Deaf Association (VADA) and the Vancouver League for the Hard of Hearing (VLHH).

While these groups made great strides for helping the social, recreational, and self-help needs of their members, a local Vancouver Quota Club committee sought to investigate what more could be done to help all people with hearing issues, whether they were Deaf, DeafBlind, or Hard of Hearing.

On February 9, 1956, VADA and VLHH supported the incorporation of a new society, titled the Society for the Advancement of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, shorthanded to “the Society.”

The Society featured representatives from the original Quota Club, the Parent-Teacher Association of Jericho Hill School for the Deaf, and the Metropolitan Health Services, and Deaf and Hard of Hearing people were elected to the Society’s first Board of Directors.

The Society was dedicated to addressing the needs and concerns of the communities it served and laid the groundwork for today’s Counselling and Sign Language Interpreting services.

As the Society grew in both numbers and scope, the name was changed to the Western Institute of the Deaf (WID) in 1965, and in 1966, WID brought on the first audiologist to help assist individuals with their hearing aid needs.

After several upgrades and moving to larger premises in the 1980s, WID decided to create income-generating options to help support the community programs.

The Audiology department was authorized to sell hearing aids, and WID also began selling assistive devices beyond hearing aids in what we now know to be the Communication Devices program.

In 1989, we had another name change to the Western Institute for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (WIDHH) to better reflect our widened scope and the diversity of the communities we serve.

Throughout the 2000s and 2010s, we continued to grow, from opening a second office in 2010 to expanding our head office into a new and improved building.

In October 2019, our new office in Mount Pleasant was opened to the public, along with another rebranding in July.

Our final name change came as we realized that “Institute” was deemed outdated by many in our community and no longer represented the breadth of our services.

Furthermore, we serve more communities now than ever; the Deaf, the DeafBlind, the Late Deafened, the Oral Deaf, the Hard of Hearing, and the Hearing communities needed to be incorporated—but how?

We launched our new name and identity on July 23, 2019: Wavefront Centre for Communication Accessibility. The timing of our rebranding came along with the passing of Bill C-81, the Accessible Canada Act, which committed to strategies to address barriers to people with disabilities.

We’re proudly making waves (get it?) and setting new benchmarks for communication accessibility, allowing for a society where Deaf, DeafBlind, Hard of Hearing, and Hearing individuals can interact freely without communication barriers.

We now serve over 25,000 clients annually and have expanded our programs and services across multiple areas.

Our goal is to help the Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing achieve accessible communication in employment, social settings, healthcare, and beyond—ensuring communication is free from barriers.