History

The Greater Vancouver Association of the Deaf is the oldest advocacy organization for people with disabilities in British Columbia. Founded in 1926, as the Vancouver Association of the Deaf Adults (VADA), the group's main goal at the time was to help deaf people of Vancouver to find employment. They worked with the Vancouver League of the Hard of Hearing (VLHH), to write many letters to governments and agencies. The progress was slow, but the persistence paid off and a new agency, Western Institute for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (WIDHH) was started. Now WIDHH provides employment, vocational and personal counseling, interpreting, hearing assessment and provision of aids and technical devices. These are important services for deaf and hard of hearing people that VADA and VLHH worked so hard to get all those years ago.

Through the years, the Association has had a number of name changes and locations within the city of Vancouver. It was incorporated under BC Societies Act as the Greater Vancouver Association of the Deaf in 1980. It is currently located in the Kitsilano area of Vancouver and continues to pursue its current goals and objectives.

One of the goals is to compile all the facts and information from 1926 to 2001 about GVAD. The facts and information will be incorporated into the creation of the first GVAD history book.