Our Story

In the Beginning

Founded in 1982 as the BC Elks Auditory Rehabilitation Centre, we began with only five families and three part-time staff. Within six short years, the staff were consulting and training other professionals, providing outreach programs throughout the province.

This was all in addition to building a solid foundation as an Early Intervention Centre for these same families.

In June of 1994, our name changed to the BC Family Hearing Resource Society. Then, in 1997, we published the first edition of “My Turn to Learn,” a guidebook for parents of children who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Fast forwarding to 2003, we moved to our main centre’s current location in Surrey. This purpose-built building was the result of a significant four-year building campaign spearheaded by some very determined volunteers, staff and parents.

Since that time, we have continued to grow in all areas, including the addition of Telehealth services, the establishment of research affiliations with local Universities and the opening of two additional centres.

Where We Are Now

For 40 years, we have been providing intervention, support, education, sign language instruction and peer-to-peer mentoring to families throughout the province.

Our services are evidence-based, non-biased and delivered by an experienced and professional team.

Family-centred care is a core principle in our organization, and we work in partnership with families and community partners to provide quality intervention services appropriate for each individual child and family.

Parents, siblings and extended family members are invited to participate and engage in our services to ensure that everyone is working together for the success of their child who is deaf or hard of hearing.

Our goal is to ensure the best outcomes for our clients.

We believe that communication, in any mode, is key. Being able to communicate one’s needs, desires, feelings, opinions and ideas is the cornerstone of a healthy and fulfilling life.

Hearing loss/deafness can impact infants’ and children’s ability to communicate; subsequently negatively affecting other important areas of development. Early Intervention can minimize, and in some cases, negate these impacts.

Today, we are the only BC agency to offer a wide variety of communication options to families. We believe strongly in informed choice for every family. These choices span a comprehensive range, from spoken language to ASL (American Sign Language).

Together with our team, families develop a plan to ensure every child’s communication potential is maximized.

BC Family Hearing Resource Society (BCFHRS) is the name of our organization. BC Family Hearing Resource Centre (BCFHRC) is the name of our provincial program serving children who are deaf and hard of hearing.

Our Custom-Built Soundproof Building

Children with hearing loss/deafness and language challenges have great difficulty learning when background noise is present. Preventative sound measures were taken by BCFHRS in the construction of our Surrey facility to reduce background noise and any reverberation of sound (echo): the covering of all areas inside the building with carpet and underlay padding; careful placement of acoustic tile paneling to absorb sound; extra-large ducts lined with absorptive material in the heating/ventilation/cooling system; double wall construction with extra insulation for all interior walls; solid doors with gasket seals to further contain sound; and a strategically-placed vestibule that creates a sound barrier between the main meeting room and the potentially noisy reception area.

Observation rooms are attached to each of our classrooms and individual therapy rooms. Parents and professionals can sit in the observation rooms with two-way mirrors, and watch and listen to sessions, gaining valuable insight into their children’s progress.

In our main, multi-purpose room there are three Assistive Listening Device (ALD) technologies – infrared, FM and the loop system. Tabletop and wireless microphones are used by participants at meetings and presentations. Individuals who are hard of hearing are able to receive sound through the various ALD systems, while the participants with typical hearing can benefit from speakers in the ceiling. The multi-purpose room is also equipped with two ceiling-mounted projectors: one to provide ‘real time captioning,’ and the other one for slides, PowerPoint, or video presentations. There is also space for ASL interpreters and a purpose-built booth for second-language interpreters.

Our centre in Surrey also holds our provincial resource library, with hundreds of books, videos, and research journals related to the topics of hearing loss/deafness and child development. These materials are available for loan to parents and professionals throughout British Columbia. We also have books for young readers, because we know how important it is to develop early literacy skills in children with a hearing loss.

Children love our outdoor playground with multiple playhouses, bike path, and equipment specifically designed for very young children. Parents enjoy engaging with each other as they watch their children play and ride tricycles on the tree-lined path, build social skills and interact with one another.