May Cecelia Gutteridge, (May 21, 1917 – February 26, 2002), one of Canada's early and most celebrated social workers, was born in Gosport, Hampshire, England, the youngest of four children of Ernest and Polly Symonds. Raised in a devout Christian home, she married Arthur Gutteridge, a school teacher, during WW2 on March 23, 1940, dressed in her

Women's Royal Naval Service The Women's Royal Naval Service (WRNS; popularly and officially known as the Wrens) was the women's branch of the United Kingdom's Royal Navy. First formed in 1917 for the First World War, it was disbanded in 1919, then revived in 1939 at the ...

uniform. The couple had three children, Sonia, Michael and Lance. They immigrated to Canada settling in

Prairie River, Saskatchewan Prairie River is a hamlet in the Canadian province of Saskatchewan. The former Prairie River railway station is now used to house the Prairie River Museum. The hamlet sits on an inactive Canadian National Railway line that was built and originall ...

, in 1955. Even though May was a busy mother and housewife, while in Saskatchewan, she engaged in numerous community activities. She ran a Scouting group, did substitute teaching, developed a kindergarten, supervised a

4-H 4-H is a U.S.-based network of youth organizations whose mission is "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development". Its name is a reference to the occurrence of the initial letter H four times i ...

club, and reopened a school in this remote area for the small group of children who could not get schooling anywhere else. The family moved to

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

, in 1958 where she became a regular worshipper at St. James' Anglican Church in Vancouver's Downtown East Side (DTES). It was there, in one of the poorest neighbourhoods in Canada, where her unparalleled story of outreach and care for the homeless, the poor and forgotten started. May began looking after seniors in the church's basement and then formed St. James Social Service Society in 1961, the Home Help program in 1962, and the first shelter for abused women in the

Downtown Eastside The Downtown Eastside (DTES) is a neighbourhood in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. One of the city's oldest neighbourhoods, the DTES is the site of a complex set of social issues including disproportionately high levels of drug use, homeles ...

named The East Ender's Society in 1965. At the same time she organized free legal aid, the Gastown Workshop, a cheque administration program for social assistance clients and later residential housing for seniors (1983) and the first free-standing hospice in British Columbia (1990). Her work has been formally acknowledged by being awarded the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada (french: Ordre du Canada; abbreviated as OC) is a Canadian state order and the second-highest honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the ...

by being invested as a Member, and by receiving the BC Senior Citizen of the year Award, the Silver Eagle Feather Award, the Pioneer Award, an honorary Doctorate of Laws from

Simon Fraser University Simon Fraser University (SFU) is a public research university in British Columbia, Canada, with three campuses, all in Greater Vancouver: Burnaby (main campus), Surrey, and Vancouver. The main Burnaby campus on Burnaby Mountain, located from ...

, the Chinatown Lioness Club Ambassador Award, the Certificate of Merit and the Chinatown Rotary Club Award. At the time of her death, St. James' Community Service Society (now called The Bloom Group Social Service Society) had become one of the largest social service agencies in Vancouver with 250 employees and an annual budget of $10 million. May Gutteridge never received an income for her many years of service.

References

* Fowler, Robin Taped interviews with May in 1997-98 * Grove, Lyndon Pacific Pilgrims 1979 * Reeve Phyllis Every Good Gift Mitchell Press 1980 Vancouver BC * The Synod of the Diocese of New Westminster * St James' Archives * St. James' Social Service Annual Reports * Welbanks, Douglas P. From Lost to Found, The May Gutteridge Story Chateau Lane Publishing, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Gutteridge, May 1917 births 2002 deaths People from Gosport British emigrants to Canada Canadian Anglicans Canadian social workers Members of the Order of Canada