Vantaggi
There were more nice clients than not, some of them look forward to seeing you every day and it makes you feel like you're helping We planned a lot of fun activities for clients which they enjoyed a lot. I would have loved to have done more things like that (pizza parties, crab feast, etc) Free breakfast and lunch. There is an on-site kitchen where the clients get breakfast and lunch, and employees also are allowed to partake. There was an excellent cook there when I worked there, so I really enjoyed free hot meals. As exhausting as it may be trying to help people that usually don't want help, the ones you do get through to make it worth it. Helping people get back on their feet while they figure out their medication and therapy is a great thing, and it makes me happy knowing there are people with mental illnesses that really are getting the help they need. Compensation for driving clients places and taking classes off site. There were occasions where a client had to stay late for an appointment and you had to take them home, but the facility would reimburse you for your miles, also for any class you had to take that was an another facility. The hours were nice, the clients were only there until 2, which left the staff a few hours to get work done without interruption! Thanks to classes I got first aid and CPR certified, I had always wanted that.
Svantaggi
They throw you in without training. I got a tour of the facility and was told what I would be doing, which was have a reasonable case-load and lead 5 different groups a week. I had no training for teaching, and was expected to come up with new material for these groups every week. I was told that I would have between 15-20 people on my case load, and no more than that. The entire time I was there, I had at least 30 people I had to keep track of and write reports on monthly. The ratio of staff to client was disproportionate. They did have training "classes" which were mostly online power points and classes that were booked several months in advance, so by the time you took them you had already been doing what they were teaching you for months. If the facility was closed due to weather, you had to go to one of the local client houses to... basically just sit there because they already have employees that work there. It's completely irresponsible and dangerous. I had to use a sick day I earned because I didn't want to risk my life driving to a group home during a blizzard. Boundaries were never enforced. There were signs saying clients were not allowed to go to the other side of the building where everyone's desks were without an escort/permission, but it was never enforced. I feel like that might be a HIPPA violation of some kind. Doors to the employee area were never allowed to be locked because of "safety" reasons. There were several personal threats and thefts of employee money and other items because of this unenforced rule. I did not feel safe. There was more than one incident with a client staying after hours (NOT allowed) screaming, breaking things and threatening a co-woker in our own work space. I was terrified and no one did anything about it. The client was never punished for their actions. When I approached a supervisor about my feelings, I was told "well that's just the line of work we're in" and dismissed. I have never felt so helpless in my life. I quit because I did not feel safe and nobody cared.
