Maison Mosaik: 20 years of West End family service
By Joel Ceausu
The Suburban
Its budget is up some 800 percent, the number of families it serves has increased about 2,500 percent; and the total amount of people who have benefited, been transformed and uplifted over two decades is in the tens of thousands.
It certainly is cause for celebration that Maison Mosaik Family Resource Centre marked its 20th anniversary last weekend, but those numbers reflect a sad reality: need.
Maison Mosaik on Cote Saint-Luc Road has been a central resource for families in NDG, Montreal West, Côte St. Luc, Hampstead and Snowdon since 2004. The nonprofit organization which is partnered with a number of organizations and institutions in the city and province, offers local families crucial assistance. This includes everything from early literacy program and parenting workshops and lectures, services for fathers, a respite program, emergency food pantry, clothing giveaways, toy lending service and hygiene products.
They had their 20th Anniversary Open House on Saturday celebrating with games, prizes, face-painting, snacks, music and a raffle for children and adults. It was an opportunity to meet up and reconnect with old friends, said co-director Teresa Kaeser, “and make some new friends, and celebrate that we are here for 20 years.”
The organization’s commitment to vulnerable families has grown as has its impact, co-director Krystine Dobbs noting that “originally we started with a budget of around $40,000 and now it’s about eight times that amount.” What’s more, they started with 35 members and last year served almost 900 families. Do the math, the impact is enormous.
Since the pandemic their funding and outreach increased massively, as did the need, particularly with their emergency food pantry once they became certified with Moisson Montreal. The food pantry was crucial, says Kaeser “because it’s really hard to worry about your child’s global development and your role as a parent in supporting that if you’re worried about feeding them. It’s basic.”
“Honestly,” she told The Suburban, “we could be open 24/7 all year long for food and basic necessities and not fill the need.” n
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