REGINA — Ignite Adult Learning Corp. still has a gap to fill in its 2025 budget after receiving additional funding from the province.
Last week, Ignite found out the Ministry of Immigration and Career Training would be giving $580,000, while the Ministry of Justice also pitched in $50,000 for a total of $630,000.
The additional funding was nearly $400,000 more than Ignite had previously been set to receive.
With the funding, Ignite will continue its operations for 2025 after originally announcing a closure for September. However, they still have $300,000 to find for 2025 as their budget is $940,000.
"Our budget has increased year-over-year," said Dellice Saxby, Ignite's executive director.
Saxby said Ignite looked into finding budget cuts but noted staff already aren’t getting enough for their salaries.
"We’re hopeful grants can cover most of the gap," she said.
Ignite reached out to the City of Regina, hoping to receive money from their Harm Reduction Grant. The grant can provide major funding upwards of $150,000.
"Getting this would be a huge win for us."
The centre will also rely on its reserves and partners to potentially fund the rest of the gap. Saxby said it’s been a stressful time for her and the staff at the centre.
"I got to discover the unpleasantness of trying to find a new job when you don't want one."
Including the staff, many of the students at the centre didn’t take the news of the original shutdown lightly.
"We’ve seen a huge escalation in mental health and several hospitalizations," said Saxby.
Ignite offers courses designed to complete the Adult 12 program for students anywhere from 16 and up. Most of the students at the centre are in their mid-20s, said Saxby.
The centre also teaches about addiction recovery, communication, anger management, employment skills and more.
"[These people] need to come somewhere where people will support them as they learn, and grow, and build new skills."
Annually, the centre sees 50-70 students.
While Ignite operations will continue this year, Saxby is anxious about the future. Ignite was told by the province that they would find out their 2026 funding in Aug., which would be closer to matching their previous budgets. Even with this, Saxby is worried the government could pull funding at any point, putting the centre back into a tough spot.
Without Ignite, Saxby said there would be a gap in the community.
"If we shut down, this will remove the safety net for the most vulnerable people [in Regina]."
