BURNABY FAMILY LIFE INSTITUTE

Burnaby Family Life (BFL) envisions a healthy and inclusive community where individuals and families can thrive. At its conception in 1971 BFL was an organization formed to respond to the changing social environment and needs of individuals and families in Burnaby. According to 'Understanding and Dismantling Impacts of Racism on Racialized Communities in Burnaby' a report commissioned by BFL it was highlighted that immigrants make up 50.38% of Burnaby’s population 'Burnaby is now a hyper diverse city with 67% of the population identifying as visible minorities the second highest percentage of visible minorities in metro Vancouver and these residents bring their intellectual and artistic talents cultures languages and worldviews from a wide range of countries'. BURNABY FAMILY LIFE’S MISSION IS TO DELIVER HIGH QUALITY SERVICES THAT MEET THE CURRENT AND EMERGING NEEDS OF INDIVIDUALS FAMILIES AND THE COMMUNITY IN ALL ITS DIVERSITY. WE FACILITATE AND EMPOWER COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY SOLUTIONS TO ENABLE ALL TO REACH THEIR FULL POTENTIAL. BFL is dedicated to supporting families and individuals within the Burnaby community by providing transformative programs and services that cultivate a strong sense of inclusivity. This year we delivered services and programs that celebrate unique backgrounds and the diverse needs of families and individuals as we continue to be deeply committed to fostering personal and collective advancement. This year we had three licensed child care centres three licensed child-minding programs parenting support workshops specialized support groups family-oriented drop-in programs outreach programs for expecting and new mothers educational programs focusing on family life summer camp and comprehensive assistance and counseling for women and children who have endured traumatic experiences and abuse. Our volunteers are a vital and invaluable asset to our organization offering their generous support across many parts of the organization. Their passion for our mission drives them to go above and beyond making a meaningful impact on the lives of those we serve.

The social services sector in which we operate our services continues to recognize the need for change to address the complex social environment and BFL in our second year of our strategic plan continues to contemplate transformation amid growth and strengthening of our internal structures and we saw many exciting things happen this past year. In January Montecito became a $10ADay ChildCare centre officially making all three of our childcare centres a part of the provincial $10aDay initiative. Our commitment to equity diversity inclusion and reconciliation has led us to grow and learn as an organization and look within. We challenged our own biases focus on outcomes and understand that this process must be intentional continuous and adaptive as we move forward. Technology has become a vital part of our operations and through the launch of our new accessible website we have found that it has allowed us to deepen our reach of services into the community. In this year we have continued to upgrade all IT structures and updated our operating systems allowing for increased efficiency and effectiveness.