Beginning

In July 2008 I began looking for biographical information about May Cecelia Gutteridge. What compelled me to go to the Internet and Google her name is still a mystery. Six years had passed since her death. We had not been in contact since 2000. I really missed her. Her wonderful sense of humour allowed me to laugh at the world and myself. Just a few minutes in the warmth of her love were enough to sharpen my convictions and reinforce my faith in the future.

When I took up my search, I was surprised to find so little information available. The best public acknowledgement of her work c   ofame from the Vancouver Sun, in a one-page obituary by Douglas Todd that seemed much too little, too late. A few other highlights of her life could be found in a one-page summary I found on the St. James’ Social Service Society website. Still, this footnote came up woefully inadequate.

I sat at my computer screen, stunned with disbelief. I tried searching “East Enders Society” and struck gold. Finally some documentation. As I read line by line, I learned about the society’s early days in the Downtown Eastside, but there was no mention of May Gutteridge. Nothing. Not a word, even though she was the founder and first president of the society. How could this be?

May’s conspicuous absence from BC history gave new meaning to the famous biblical phrase “from lost to found.” To me, May Gutteridge and her incredible story of triumph had been “lost,” but deserved to be better known. I became determined to resurrect the faded memories of a very important Canadian—a charismatic and devout leader who waded into the cold, cold waters of drug addiction and poverty to help thousands of British Columbians at a time, the 1950s and 60s, when it was not politically correct to do so. There is little doubt that May’s early pioneer work influenced governments at all levels to respond to her cry for compassion and funding that finally came in the 1970s.

To make this story come alive, I have used scenes and conversations based on real clients and events, interviews and meeting minutes in a manner that allows the reader to see her laughing, crying, speaking, listening, and taking the hands of those who needed her most. It was through May that many experienced, often for the very first time, true dignity and acceptance

Client names have been changed to protect their privacy.

Douglas Welbanks

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