May Gutteridge

May Cecelia Gutteridge, CM one of Canada's early and most celebrated social workers, was born May 21, 1917 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 23rd, 1940 dressed in her Women's Royal Naval Service uniform. The couple had three children, Sonia, Michael and Lance. They immigrated to Canada settling in Prairie River, Saskatchewan 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 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 in 1958 where she became a regular worshipper at St. James' Church. 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 in 1961, the Home Help program in 1962, and the first shelter for abused women in the Downtown Eastside 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 receiving the Order of Canada, 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, the Chinatown Lioness Club Ambassador Award, the Certificate of Merit and the Chinatown Rotary Club Award.
At the time of her death on February 26, 2002, St. James' Community 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.