Today we’d like to introduce you to Margaret Whichard.
Hi Margaret, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
From an early age, I felt I didn’t fit in and tried hard to fix myself. Growing up in a family with multiple ministers, I felt rejected, different, and like the Black Sheep. I married young for all the wrong reasons. Misfortune always seemed to follow me. Feeling that others had similar struggles, I quit my banking job to pursue a career in counseling. This led to my fully embracing who I was, a desire to understand God better, and a commitment to serve others. As a Certified Alcohol & Drug Counselor, Certified Mental Health Coach, and Professional Life Coach, my passion is working with the marginalized, the aging population, and individuals who fall between the cracks. I meet with clients by phone, Zoom, or in person. Nature has many healing properties, and sometimes meetings are outdoors. Sessions are free or donation only. The aim is to remove barriers that make it difficult to ask for help. I try to listen without judgment, suggest client-based solutions, offer support, and most of all give hope to those needing it the most.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Life has been a rocky road for me. Bad marriages, divorces, physical & emotional abuse, bankruptcy, rejected by my birth family, and always feeling like I was not good enough. At the time of my birth, there were 35 ministers in my family. I will always be grateful that I learned about God at an early age. But religious shame, guilt, and confusion contributed to my lack of confidence and low self-esteem.
By middle age, I thought I was finally getting my life together. In the mortgage business for almost 20 years, I’d just gone through another bank merger/layoff. Financially, I needed to make a change. Since my early twenties, I’d done volunteer work and sometimes felt it was more fulfilling than being a number cruncher. At 60, I decided I wanted to use my life experiences to help others. I started volunteering with mental health agencies, taking classes, and eventually got a part-time job at a homeless shelter. I enrolled in a 170-hour curriculum to become a Certified Alcohol & Drug Counselor. 18 months in,I fell on a wooden bridge and broke my kneecap. Five surgeries, almost losing my leg and my life, five hospitalizations, rehab centers, 2 years out of work, and over 250 visits/treatments, I was released to go back to work. I finally got my first job as a Counselor.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
During my banking career, managers often assigned difficult employees to me for mentoring. I often wrote training manuals because of my ability to see the whole picture, explain things well, and make it relatable. Often, I was called the Chaplain. Others trusted me and felt comfortable sharing their secrets/problems with me. I enjoyed this aspect of my job. These skills were valuable to me when I became a counselor.
For the first five years as a counselor, I worked with a homeless shelter, a homeless resource center, a medicaid agency, and a Medication Assisted Treatment Clinic. Partially because I was still recovering from my accident and partially because I wanted exposure to all aspects of addiction. Working with the homeless community changed me. I worked on the streets where they lived and became a part of their world. They called me Miss Margaret.
What set me apart as a counselor was that I was so much older than most of my co-workers. I had the life experiences they were lacking. Because of my personal trauma and struggles, I could honestly relate to my clients. Being divorced with grown kids, I had extra time to take on more clients. This started as a blessing but ended up being a curse. I was so excited to be working in Mental Health that I wanted to work all the time. I learned the hard way how important it is to set boundaries for yourself.
As I approached my seventies, I moved closer to my grandchildren. I was experiencing carry-over effects from my accident. I switched to part-time work. I’d only worked in Mental Health for a short time, but I’d made an impact. People were calling me for help or advice. Mental Health can be complex. The client might have a drinking problem, but that can affect every area of their life. It’s frustrating for clients to be shuffled from agency to agency to get help. This is unavoidable today, but I provide a roadmap to help clients maneuver the system. Most counselors don’t provide this service.
I am most proud of not quitting after my accident. Many people would have. I completed my classes and passed the state exam. I didn’t drive for a year. I had little income but a lot of determination. My first two jobs after the accident it was difficult for me to walk. Literally working in the community with my clients, often walking from house to house, I felt very vulnerable. But never more fulfilled. Not many people would have done this at age 68.
Two years ago, I decided to stop working for agencies, but I wanted to continue using the skills I’d worked so hard to obtain. I was already helping people with mental health issues, so I decided to create a small non-profit. Money was not the motive, but I only had my social security, I needed enough to cover expenses. Finally, I’d made peace with my past and wanted to help others struggling to find themselves in a sometimes cold and cruel world. My father, a minister, called me Maggie. To honor him, I named my non-profit Maggie’s Ministry.
We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
Nothing ventured, nothing gained. I am a risk taker. But I am also an analytical person. Do I listen to my head or my heart? When I was younger, I felt I had many years to recoup bad decisions. Now I know how quickly life goes by and how long it can take to recover, if ever, from a bad decision.
My second marriage was my biggest mistake.
Pricing:
- No fee
- Donations Accepted
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.maggiesministrygso.org/
- Facebook: http://facebook.com/margnorton
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/margaretwhichard/
