“When I was in high school, I never saw myself with a child. I was one of those girls that never wanted children. I didn’t like children,” said 19-year-old Shayna Guy.
A lot has changed for Guy since then. Having a baby wasn’t exactly in her plans. Her friend Taylor Ketsak is also 19, and has two children.
“I had Jayce just before my eighteenth birthday, and I wasn’t planning on getting pregnant again, but it happens.” said Ketsak.
Despite having their hands full, both women are now just a few credits away from graduating high school – and that’s thanks to Kids First daycare.
“It gives me a break and let’s me finish what I would have finished before I got pregnant,” said Ketsak.
The daycare is located on the upper level of Regina Public School’s adult campus. It was launched five years ago, for young moms completing their education there. But since then, demand has grown.
“We started here with 47 spaces, which in the begging were hard to fill. But once the word started spreading, a lot more kids started to come and now we’re full with a large waiting list,” said Tiffany Troendle, supervisor at Kids First.
Services are now offered to young mothers attending any educational facility. They’re looking to the province for more funding to expand their location, so they can accept more kids.
“The government made a commitment two years ago to develop an additional 2000 spaces. So we allocated 500 this year and 500 last year, so we anticipate there’ll be 500 in each of the next two years,” said Cindy Jeanes of the Ministry of Education.
Mothers that already have their children enrolled at Kids First are glad they have more than just a daycare. It’s also a place they can connect with other parents.
“It’s nice to have people that are kind of going through the same thing together. You all kind of know and support each other,” said Kayla Desnomie.
It’s a place where they can share their dreams of a brighter future for their families.
“I want to get a bigger, better house for my kids, and a better car and just better my life, for them,” said Ketsak.
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