Health Minister Leo Glavine says his department is prepared to boost funding for vision rehabilitation programs offered through the Canadian National Institute for the Blind.

The announcement comes as more than 100 people marched to Province House on its first day of the fall session to protest cuts to the charity in the last budget.

The Department of Community Services slashed CNIB's funding from $507,800 to $355,460. As a result, CNIB says it had to cut five positions and more are at risk.

The non-profit also receives $175,000 annually from the Department of Health, but combined, the government funding is only about half of what the charity says it needs to run its therapy programs.

Participants in the rally accused the government of discrimination, saying it fully funds rehabilitation therapies for people who have strokes, lose their hearing or lose a limb, but it only partially funds vision therapies that are only offered through the charity.

Glavine agreed funding needs to change.

"It's important that the Department of Health and Wellness become the sole means of financing the rehab program for the organization," he said.

Therapies cover a range of skills, from learning how to walk with a white cane to cooking to using a computer. Many at the rally who were clients at the CNIB say the programs gave them independence and changed their lives.

"For me it's going to be a crying shame if they're not around to do what they've done for so long," said Owen Young, who has been using the services at the charity for three years.

He says they've taught him how to navigate his neighbourhood and how to read braille. Young points out with Nova Scotia's aging population, more people will need support.

"If they're not around, where else do you go?"

Glavine agreed it is "critical" work: "We'll accept responsibility for that in the months ahead."

Glavine is set to meet with CNIB representatives later in November to discuss specific funding numbers. He says immediate financial support is also a possibility.

"We're certainly prepared to look at the [short] term, but also more importantly is to make sure that program is in place in the future because it does have challenges at the moment."

CNIB called the rally historic – it said it was the first time blind and partially sighted Nova Scotians protested outside the legislature.

The group says there are approximately 13,000 blind or partially sighted people in the province.