By Colleen Flanagan – Maple Ridge News
Kristi Blakeway first met Cindy when she was handing out water on the Downtown Eastside.
The current principal of Harry Hooge elementary was walking the sidewalk along Hastings Street in Canada’s poorest neighbourhood as part of a new project, Beyond Hello.
Cindy was going to kill herself. She had planned to jump in front of a city bus, but instead accepted an invitation to lunch by Blakeway.
Over lunch at Save On Meats, Blakeway discovered that Cindy was battling HIV, hepatitis, and a heroin addiction. Her only reason to live would be the hope of once again seeing her daughter.
When Cindy was a teenager in Ontario, she gave up her baby for adoption. It was her biggest regret in life. Now, 25 years later, all she knew was her daughter’s birth date and first name, Paige.