Sometimes the course of a person’s life — even the course of many lives — can be altered forever with just a handful of decisions.
Such is the case with Mary Boyles.
The Mount Airy resident serves as executive director for The Shepherd’s House, the county’s homeless shelter. But for Boyles, it’s more than just a job — it’s a calling, one she answered nearly half a decade ago, when she sat down and made the decision to leave what she said was a good job at AES in order to assume the post at The Shepherd’s House.
“I’d been serving on the board of directors for the shelter,” she said, when the then-director Amy Cook announced she would be leaving. Boyles said she felt a tug on her heart to consider the post, which she did — and the board named her the new director shortly afterward.
That was in September 2015, and she said working at the shelter has been more rewarding than any other job she’s ever had, despite the type of stress that often comes with juggling so many different tasks and responsibilities, as non-profit directors generally do.
“When I first took the job, I did some research, I found that most non-profit executive directors last for three to five years,” she said. “They suffer burnout because they have to wear so many hats. There truly is a load on these people.”
While Boyles is approaching that five-year mark with Shepherd’s house, it doesn’t sound like she’s worried about burnout.
“I love walking in that door every day,” she said of the agency office. “I feel joy and privilege to be in this job. I love making a difference in the lives of the underserved. … I think I’m going to die in this job. I really do.”
Anyone who has spent time around Boyles, particularly since she took the top spot at Shepherd’s House, would have no trouble believing she will be there for a long time. She always speaks with a deep, genuine enthusiasm about the work done there, and she’s pushed the agency to not only grow, but to secure its financial footing along the way.
“When I came here, our balance sheet was in the $60,000s,” she said. “Now, it’s $1.5 million. But that’s not me, it’s the community. It takes a village to do this.”
Along the way, the agency has continued to find ways to serve more people. Last autumn it held a groundbreaking on a new facility, which when finished will house up to 48 homeless individuals, far more than the 18 which can be served in the present facility.
Once the new building is up and running, the present facility will be gutted and refurbished into efficiency apartments to be used by those who are ready to move from the homeless shelter to one where they can start to pay rent as they find work and get back on their feet.
And there’s another facility coming later that will cater specifically to homeless military veterans.
That she would be so focused on the financial growth of the agency should be no surprise, nor should anyone who knows her be shocked that she’s always looking for ways to grow, to help more people.
Boyles spent 27 years in the security industry, first with ADT, then on her own.
“I’d gone as far as I could with ADT in North Carolina, and I didn’t want to move,” she said. So, she started her own firm, Maximum Security, which grew to include offices in Charlotte and Mount Airy. She built that firm into a successful operation, but then she moved back to Mount Airy to help care for her ailing father, and sold the firm in February 2014.
A year-and-a-half later, she found herself walking in the door of The Shepherd’s House as the new director.
“I walked up here thinking I was going to help them, show them how things should be done,” she recently commented, reflecting on the business background she was bringing to the table. “I found out I had so much to learn.”
One of her early lessons was discovering that running a non-profit, in particular this non-profit, was about more than fundraising and expanding the facility’s footprint.
“One of my challenges was I didn’t know anything about homelessness. … It was a struggle for me my first two years.”
Along the way, Boyles said she believes God sent someone who could open her eyes to the plight of the people she was serving, to help her better understand what leads people to homelessness and how they can best get back on their feet.
“I had a friend I’d gone to college with, played softball with together,” she said. “I’d never known what happened to her.”
A few years ago, while having already started her work at the Shepherd’s House, that friend showed up seeking help.
“I knew when she was in college she had a good life. What causes people to go down that path?” In her friend’s case, it was the loss of both of her parents within a year. which sent her into a downward spiral that eventually led to substance abuse and homelessness over the course of 30 years.
“A lot of executive directors don’t get that exposure to homelessness that I’ve had with her: that personal, emotional bond.”
That, she said, has instilled in her a fire to constantly find new ways to reach out and help not only the homeless, but other underserved populations in the community through food distribution and other charity work. And to help change people’s ideas toward the homeless.
“Instead of saying ‘How can a homeless person afford cigarettes?’ learn about them, learn their stories. I’ve learned the stories of the people here.”
And that, she said, motivates her to continue working for them, motivates her to keep finding ways to help the homeless, to help the people she serves find their way back on their feet.
Ultimately, though, the fact that Boyles became executive director of The Shepherd’s House, the fact that she’s led in expanding the facility and service hundreds of homeless individuals and families over the years, comes from one decision made decades earlier: Her parents, Ronald and Lib Boyles, decided to adopt an infant.
Adopt her.
“I think about being adopted, about how blessed I am,” she said in recalling her thought process when she was considering the executive director’s job. “I don’t know what I did to deserve the blessings I’ve got, but I think that God has used those to bring me to where I am now.”
During a conversation regarding her work at the Shepherd’s House, and life in general, Boyles often will sprinkle in comments about what an influence her parents have been on her, the role they played in helping her develop the values she holds dear.
“My dad taught us, no matter what you do, always find something you’re passionate about.”
And that’s what she has found with her work at the Shepherd’s House.
“When I go home at night, I keep thinking about what I want to do the next day. This job is unlike anything I’ve ever done. The people here give me so much more than I could ever give. … I can’t imagine a day without the Shepherd’s House.”
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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