In conversation with Sly Castaldi, Coordinator of Community Relations and Administration, Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis, August 2004.

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In 1979, Marianne Goulden ran from her violent husband. She and five of her children became the first residents of the Guelph Women in Crisis transition house. At that time the shelter was located in a basement apartment. Later in its history, the transition house was moved to the bank of the beautiful Speed River that flows through the South end of Guelph, Ontario.

Marianne's family thrived and Marianne began to work as a volunteer at the shelter. She went on to become a paid staff member. Residents who did not want to disclose they were staying at the shelter would say they were at Marianne's place. The informal name eventually became what the shelter was called, in honour of the agency's first resident and now staff, Marianne, who had escaped a violent marriage and built a life without violence for herself and her children. Crisis Group members were excited to name their shelter after a woman who had successfully escaped a violent home. The name became a symbol of hope, unlike the other shelters in the area that were named after women who had been murdered.

While working at the shelter, Marianne started a new relationship with a man named Timothy Weldon. Weldon later stabbed her to death in her kitchen while her youngest daughter Laura called 911 for help. Marianne was 47 years old. Her murder was a source of great pain for the remaining staff. One can only imagine the bitterness they felt to realize that their shelter too was now named after a woman who had been murdered, their friend and co-worker Marianne.

Weldon was found guilty of first-degree murder but that conviction was later reversed and he was found not guilty by reason of mental illness. Marianne's family believes he deliberately faked certain symptoms of mental illness to get away with murder.

Marianne's Place was located on the site that is now known as Marianne's Park, dedicated in 1993. When the agency wanted to renovate and expand the building, the Grand River Conservation Authority denied a permit to expand the building, where people would be residing, because it is situated in the 500 year old flood plain along the river.

Each year since, Crisis group women have held Take Back the Night Marches and December 6th vigils in Marianne's Park. Gathering to protest the on-going atrocities against women, they are accompanied by the painful memory of Marianne's death as they try to stay warm in the cold night air.

Marianne Goulden was a woman who gave her all and had tremendous strength to overcome hard times. Her generosity touched and lifted everyone who had the privilege of sharing in her life: her family, her friends, and her colleagues at Guelph-Wellington Women in Crisis and the Guelph Correctional Centre. Her family can still feel her guiding them in their lives into making the right decisions and being the best people they can possibly be.

'You look like you need a hug,' are words remembered by a little girl, grown now.