With funding in limbo, inner-city youth resource centre faces layoffs, program cuts
A non-profit resource centre aimed at empowering youth in Winnipeg’s core says it is facing layoffs and a severe reduction in services, as its federal funding hangs in the balance.
Resource Assistance for Youth Inc., known as RaY, held a news conference Wednesday detailing the non-profit’s financial uncertainty.
Since 2018, RaY received millions in federal dollars through the Youth Employment and Skills Strategy grant.
The organization says it has been “in a holding pattern” while funding decisions for its latest grant application, submitted in November 2023, are delayed in Ottawa.
RaY interim executive director Caryn Birch says she was told the delay is due to a high volume of applicants.
“Originally, we were told we would be hearing back at the end of April, early May, which we planned for financially as an organization,” Birch said.
“Now we are at month seven.”
RaY interim executive director Caryn Birch is pictured at a May 22, 2024 news conference. (Daniel Halmarson/CTV News Winnipeg)
Its previous funding ended on March 31, and the organization has been pulling money from other areas to compensate.
As a result, 12 staff members are facing layoffs, which would reduce services for 80 at-risk youth through the organization’s Level Up! Program. The seven-week paid training program provides in-class education and a 16-week work placement to empower youth to join the labour market.
Birch says the loss will have a significant impact on the youth RaY serves and their goals of financial independence and employment.
Winnipeg Centre MP Leah Gazan says young people in the neighbourhood cannot afford to lose these services.
“We don’t have wiggle room in Winnipeg Centre to lose services and resources for young people. In fact, we need more,” she said.
“The fact that we have not heard about the funding places youth who are already at risk of being marginalized by systems further at risk.”
In an email to CTV News Winnipeg, a federal spokesperson said the fund received over 1,000 proposals from organizations across the country, surpassing the 2019 intake.
“Service Canada is assessing applications, with funding decisions expected in Spring 2024. Employment and Social Development Canada is diligently evaluating every application,” the spokesperson said.
“Due to the high volume of responses, not all eligible projects will receive funding.”
- With files from CTV’s Daniel Halmarson
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6938298.1719229990!/httpImage/image.png_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.png)
Princess Anne sustains injuries and concussion in an 'incident,' Buckingham Palace says
Princess Anne sustained minor injuries and a concussion following an incident on an estate in southwest England, the Buckingham Palace said Monday.
This U.S. company is selling products with human fecal matter to Canadians. What does Health Canada think about it?
The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has issued a warning letter to a company appearing to sell products containing human fecal matter without approval from the agency.
This is what an 'incredibly difficult' heat wave was like inside one of Canada's densest neighbourhoods
This is what it was like in a Toronto neighbourhood where 30,000 people live during a scorching heat wave.
Stanley Cup stage set for McDavid, Oilers in final game of roller-coaster season
Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers face the Florida Panthers in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup final Monday — the last hurdle in an improbable journey this season.
Lifeguard and 'Pirates of the Caribbean' actor dies after apparent shark attack in Hawaii
A lifeguard and surf instructor – who also appeared in movies including 'Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides' and 'Blue Crush' - died Sunday following an apparent shark attack on the North Shore of Ohau, Hawaii, according to officials.
At least 16 dead in a fire at a lithium battery factory in South Korea
A fire at a lithium battery manufacturing factory near South Korea's capital on Monday left at least 16 people dead, seven injured and six missing, officials said.
Is Trump shielded from criminal charges as an ex-president? A nation awaits word from U.S. Supreme Court
In the coming days, the U.S. Supreme Court will confront a perfect storm mostly of its own making: a trio of decisions stemming directly from the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Researchers have found a 'clear genetic trigger for obesity' that applies to some people
Experts have long known there is a genetic component to obesity, and a new study identified one particular gene that may be behind it.
A year ago, her engagement ring vanished at a hospital. She still cherishes the man who gave it to her
When Faye Bauman went to a Florida hospital for surgery last year, she handed her diamond engagement ring to a nurse — and never saw it again. The ring carries profound memories of her late husband and the moment he proposed to her 57 years ago.