In the early life of Vancouver, two distinct groups existed for people with hearing loss and Deafness – the Vancouver Adult Deaf Association [VADA], formed in 1926 and the Vancouver League for the Hard of Hearing [VLHH], established in 1933. These groups met social, self-help and recreational needs for their members.

In 1950 the Community Chest – Vancouver invited Mrs. Lena Clarke, a charter member of the local Quota Club to chair a committee to investigate what could be done to help people with several hearing problems.  As an outcome of the work of this committee, the VADA and VLHH, who were already sharing rented common quarters at the Legion building on Alma Street, agreed to merge to form a society in 1956.  Both groups kept their own identities and supported the new society, which was named the Society of the Advancement of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. The newly formed society had representatives on its board from the Quota Club, the newly revived Parent-Teacher Association of Jericho Hill School for the Deaf and the Metropolitan Health Services.  Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Hearing persons were elected to the Board of Directors and elected the founding President, R.M. Schon.

From 1956 to 1960 the volunteer Board of Directors worked to lay the groundwork for the services WIDHH provides today.  They sought funding for a counselor or social worker skilled in sign language and sponsored a partial survey of the Deaf in 1963 to determine the number of persons needing assistance and the type of help needed.  In 1958 the Community Chest provided $3,000 [the first budget] to hire a part-time interpreter and finger spelling.  For the first time, an evening class offered instruction in sign language and finger spelling.

In 1960 a church and house at 18th Avenue and Main Street were purchased for $27,500. The VADA donated $2,000.00 and VLHH $500 towards the purchase and a mortgage of $17,000 was assumed.  The church provided social quarters for the groups and the house provided staff office space. Total investment including structural changes, required by the City Building Code, totaled $31,000.   The Society occupied the building in October 1961 and at first rented it out as a source of revenue.   A Capital Fundraising Campaign to retire the debt of $21,000 was successful, so that by September 1968 the loan stood at $3,464.

In May 1963, another survey was conducted to the target population, which was the first in Canada of a large group of Deaf and Hard of Hearing people.  Robert Boese who conducted the survey and was a skilled signer was later hired as the first Executive Director, part-time, [August 1964 to February 1965) and in 1964 the first newsletter was published.@@In 1965 on recommendation of the Community Chest the society name was change to the Western Institute of the Deaf (WID).  At this time, staff now included one full-time Secretary, assisted in the work by many volunteers.  Requests for interpreting services averaged 20 per month.  These were met by volunteers who received token payments for their services.  About 70 used hearing aids were distributed per month and a “hearing test by telephone” was carried out with the cooperation of B.C. Tel.

In September, 1966 Emmett N. Casey was hired as full-time Executive Director and Lynn Siddaway as the first Interpreter staff member.  Soon a Social Worker and an Audiologist were added to the staff.  The period of 1966-1970 saw the growth of services which had been recommended for many years.

The property at 2125 West 7th Avenue was purchased in 1969 at a cost of $195,000.   The property at 18th and Main was sold for $52,000. Costly renovations to the building at West 7th were completed.  Furnishings were donated by Mrs. Irene Rogers and family in memory of her brother, Mr. George Cowan who lost his life in World War II.  In January of 1970, WID moved into the newly renovated building.  A Capital Campaign for $200,000 was undertaken to retire the mortgage, with many prominent citizens serving in the campaign.

Emmett Casey resigned as Executive Director in 1971 and as succeed by Robert Gallant who resigned in the fall of 1973.   Gary Magarrel became Executive Director in 1974 and served until 1981.

During the 1970's WID played a role in several significant events.  One was the opening of the King’s Daughters Manor, a home for the elderly Deaf.  In 1975 the founding of the [now defunct] Canadian Coordinating Council on Deafness in which the WID played a key role.  On September 18th, 1976 in an exciting ceremony, WID burned the mortgage before a crowd of several hundred people.

The 1980's marked a period of progress for WID.  During this time, WID opened a branch office in Victoria; celebrated the 25th Anniversary of its founding; established an Endowment Fund, and started the Message Relay Centre.  Lynn Siddaway, its first employee in 1966, was appointed Executive Director succeeding Gary Magarrel.  She served in this position from 1980-1989, and was followed by Cheryl Collins in the short-term role of Acting Execution Director.

In 1988, WID moved to develop options for generating income for the agency.  The Audiology Department was authorized to begin selling hearing aids.  A for-profit arm of the agency, named WID Enterprises was created to sell Technical Aids.  In October, of 1989 the name was changed to Sound Communications Inc.  Sylvia Holland, who was hired as marketing director of WID Enterprises, became President of SCI.  Difficulties were encountered in the process of attempting to establish a working business.

Following passage of a motion at the May 1989 AGM, the Agency name was changed from Western Institute for the Deaf to Western Institute for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (WIDHH) to better reflect the scope of the population served.  Following a majoring legal struggle by the Deaf, supported by WIDHH and led by Henry Vlug, a decision was handed down that BC TEL must provide 24-hour message relay service for the Deaf and the Message Relay Centre was moved from WIDHH to the offices of BC TEL and became a 24-hour service.  This was a landmark decision in North America.

With the growth of the Lower Mainland population and the increasing move of people to outlying areas, including Surrey, a decision was taken by the Board of Directors to relocate WIDHH outside of Vancouver, in a direction towards the Fraser River areas.  A committee worked with Kiwanis who had offered financial support to the idea.  The Board hired Doug Parker, a real estate consultant, to search for the new building.   In 1989, a contract was signed to sell the WIDHH property to Legacy Holdings Ltd. for $1,175,000.00 with the provision that the possession in January 1990.  Cheryl Collins resigned in December 1989 and was succeeded by Barbara Brett, of the United Way for a six-month period to bridge the gap and stabilize matters at the agency until a new Executive Director could be found.

The 1990's began with difficult times at WIDHH.  Unfortunately, the Board found the building they had decided to purchase in Burnaby was unsuited to WIDHH service needs and the purchase was cancelled in February, 1990, with a refund of their $10,000 deposit.  The deadline to vacate the building was reached.  This meant that the Board had to withdraw form its contract to sell the building, with a resultant penalty of $166,985 owed to Legacy Holdings.  An agreement was signed to provide Legacy Holdings with the Rights of First Refusal for seven years, should the agency initiate another sale of the property.  To meet this new financial burden, a mortgage on the building to the amount of $625,0000 and was negotiated with VanCity Credit Union.

In October of 1991, the Vancouver Island Branch of WIDHH initiated a separation from WIDHH and formed, Island Deaf and Hard of Hearing Centre (IDHHC).  This resulted in an additional financial deficit for WIDHH. To this day, both WIDHH and IDHHC still work closely together. In September 1991, Trevor Thomas was hired as Executive Director and worked to improve the business and financial situation of the agency.  He resigned in June 1995.  Following an extensive search Dr. Marilyn Dahl was hired as Executive Director, commencing October 2, 1996 and is the first Deafened person to fill this position.

September 2001 Peter Julian was hired as Executive Director. During his tenure WIDHH`s Audiology department won consecutive Canadian Consumer Choice Awards for Excellence in Business (2003-2004) and the WIDHH Okanagan Branch (office located in Kelowna), opened in October of 2003. Peter ran for the New Democtratic Party nomination in the riding of Burnaby – New Westminster, British Columbia and was successful in 2004 Peter.

Susan Masters, Head of Interpreting Services at the time became Acting Executive Director. On August 25th, 2005 Susan Masters officially became Executive Director of WIDHH. She reports to a volunteer Board of Directors comprised of not less than five and not more than fourteen members, who meet monthly.

The next 5 years marked a time for expansion of WIDHH’s services into satellite offices. In July 2007 WIDHH was pleased to open a second Audiology Clinic on Willow Street at Broadway with a staff of 2 full-time Audiologists and 1 Receptionist. Our Media Development office in New Westminster was opened in the Summer of 2008. The Learning for Life program has launched an employment website, www.Learning-for-Life.ca, to assist Deaf, Deafblind and Hard of Hearing individuals find employment and to educate employers on the employability of these individuals. Most recently, in August 2010, we were thrilled to open our third Audiology Clinic in Port Coquitlam. The office is staffed by 1 full-time Audiologist and 1 full-time Receptionist. The office also offers Employment Counselling services once a week, by appointment.

At present (2010) WIDHH has a permanent staff of 29 full-time and 10 part-time employees.  Services provided are in the area of:

• Employment Counseling Services
• Audiology Services
• Communication Devices Showroom
• Sign Language Interpreting Services