case manager

program director

peer advocate

housing specialist

licensed practical nurse

Acacia Network

For the most part, being an RA for the AM Shift was easy. Management and staff was okay to me. Daily objectives was coming in to relieve a co worker serving breakfast, finish off serving breakfast, closing & cleaning cafe. Inserting frozen packaged meals into oven for upcoming lunchtime for clients. Room to room wellness checks. Typing a shift report and maintaining logbook. Room inspections. Putting away and rotating delivery stock. Serving lunch for an hour and going on break. Once you come back from break, conduct more room wellness checks, finish off shift report and you get to go home If relieved. Management was for the most part accommodating if you couldn’t stay back for the next shift. They will try to find coverage if needed. Evening tours were a bit more hectic with clients coming in from work or programs. Clients will get packed up if they missed curfew for some amount of time and will get irate complaining about their stuff being touched or getting packed up and losing their bed/room. Some days you will have clients coming in drunk after curfew which will mess up the night tour to some degree if it’s literally towards the end of your shift and they’re belligerent. Now you have to call EMS/Cops and write an incident report. And also, being that you packed up a client, and there’s open beds, you will have to conduct client intakes which takes some time depending on the client. Overall, an okay job depending on the site, schedule, staff and clients. The only bad part is that sometimes you’re the only one actually doing the grunt work while supervisors and staff lay back chilling which in turn will frustrate you to the point you get tired of the job. From what I was told, No real growth as far as moving up from RA to supervisor unless you put a year in and you may be considered for shift supervisor for another site, if there’s any openings but not at the one you’re currently in.

It was a temporary position and knew what I was signing for. I was a Residential Assistant at the Radisson Hotel in Jamaica, Queens. The Hotel had partnered with Acacia who had 135 families temporarily assigned there until their individual cases was approved or denied by HRA. 

My job was logging in the activities of the shelter occupants and reminding them that they must follow the rules while staying at the hotel and the time that Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner would be available including the curfew time which was 10:00pm in the evening. 

I remained in communication with other case workers, my supervisor, and the hotel staff/management to resolve problems with the daily operation of the hotel that was related to the shelter occupants. 

The hardest part of the job was informing the shelter occupants that they had to vacate their hotel room in the morning. They was picked up by a vehicle and ordered to go to PATH. I had to clean up the room with their personal belongings in several boxes and placed them in the office until the former occupants had picked them up. I even stayed at the job until 1:00am because something had always came up at the last minute. It had to get done or sometimes in the following day. 

The most enjoyable part of the job was getting to know the shelter occupants. Despite their circumstances, they are human beings and want to do better for themselves and their families. They are determined to not let their current situation determine their present and future. 

It was a learning experience for me and I am thankful for it. The job has made me more sensitive to the plight of others and to always be thankful for what I have in my life.

Typical day at work. 
Frustrating,  overworking due to shortage of staff the house almost always runs under ratio.You're lucky if you get relieved from you shift . Often times you will be left waiting for relief after your time is up even tho management is fully aware there wasnt a staff coming to relieve you , You will not be given the courtesy of knowing ahead of time .

What I learned? 
All agency's are not created equal. 

Management?
Management is undervalued, untrained then
Left to fend for themselves,  Director doesnt give enough help instead incourages Management to put everything on the DSP's shoulders.

Workplace Culture?
Staff Cut throat, bullies .99 percent of them are there for a check they are there to control the patients,do what they want and  damage good co workers.

Hardest part of the Job? .
Not having activities or rools in place to give the patients better living experiences. 
Burnout, no coverage, no team work 
Lack of moral. Lack of communication 
Not enought management,  no assistant, no supervision,  no Nurses,  no maintenance.  DSP'S does everyone's job.

Most enjoyable part of the Job ? 
The impact you leave of the individuals.  The few great co workers that came and went due to the disgusting work culture.





The interview process is poor; poor interview processes plays a huge part in employee retention rate. The agency needs a more streamlined interview process; they are so desperate to hire it’s SAD. Management across the agency operates in a cult fashion; in the shelter sector to be specific. Training engagement, workplace culture, professionalism & work life balance are all POOR. Client confidentiality is null & void. Since management operates in a cult fashion, complaints from staff are disregarded, leaving staff to feel unsupported & some afraid. During 2020-2022 the shelter sector of the agency hired more than 15 felons; this sounds like a great initiative because providing formerly incarcerated a chance after coming home is rewarding. However, management disregarded policy & boundaries with the formerly incarcerated so they protect the cult like management environment. The only enjoyable part of the job is actually connecting the clients to resources, and assisting them with securing housing. Extremely unprofessional and unethical.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part of working there is that all supervisors are people of color like myself. This is the first time I have ever experienced a professional setting where most people in leadership positions look like me.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Dysfunction and disorganization. The left hand never knows what the right hand is doing, even when both hands are needed for a project. It is draining emotionally, and that dilutes the care for the clients.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Overworked and underpaid, like most companies, some people band together when there is a project or an issue to ensure things get done. That takes a while because some will block progress because they have just become so used to doing that.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Engaging with clients, writing notes in charts, managing the caseload, and helping a colleague manage theirs. We are close-knit teams who don't get the recognition we should, but we are considered "low-level" staff, so it is what it is.

I have worked in human services more than 28 years and I can tell you that across the board Acacia/Promesa is among the worst run agencies in NYC. I had a supervisor on my first day tell me I couldn't leave the site to go to lunch and that I had to work through lunch. BTW she couldn't even speak English adequately to communicate properly. The next day when I complained to her boss she totally lied about the incident. There is no staff directory anywhere to be found so you don't have anybody to call for support and you have no idea who works for who...the clients act out because staff lies to them about everything. BTW there wasn't even enough chairs for staff to sit in. Try working at a computer all day without sitting down. There is no client considentiality..HIPPA is generally ignored. You take histories from clients and the desks are literally 4 feet from each other...there is nothing about this agency that is right and one more thing...Acacia proudly announces that it's a Hispanic Social Services agency . Yet receves public funds to serve clients of all backgrounds. Not just Hispanic. So what's the message here?

The place is so unorganized, lacks good leadership from Supervisors, and is a headache. The clients aren't the issue; it's the staff one person in particular the DSS.

The DSS is ineffective, power hungry and doesn't know how to do the job. I've been there a year and some months and within that time I've seen over 30 people resigned because of the DSS who likes to pick fights and harass people every day with emails that has nothing to do with work related matters.

The Director got fired and I hope the DSS is next as she doesn't have a clue and when you try to correct her "trial and error" is her favorite go to statement. Just how many "F** k ups" does one get if you've been doing the same job for over 3 years!?? Get it together already! 

There is lack of motivation to go to work and to want to stay there and serve the clients effectively if you always feel like your going to "war/prison/battle." 

They say the grass isn't always greener on the other side, but somethings got to give; hopefully she resign/get fired like the Director sooner than later!

I applied for a management position recently. Location was close to my home however, the layout of the shelter was not conducive. The working space for the position was tight and cramp, and dark. The first interview with the prospective supervisor was ok. The writing sample that I had to do was very vague and did not match with the position I was applying for. The writing sample look more like a case manager writing sample.
I went to a second interview at the main office in the Bronx. A man and woman from upper management interviewed me. I waited about 15 mins before I was called in. One of the administrators was eating two cups of oatmeal in my face while interviewing. At one point the same administrator who was eating had asked me a few vague questions which he failed to elaborate further (nor give an example) when I asked. At the end of the interview, the same administration apologize for eating in my face. You would think that the same person would wait after the interview to eat. I was turned off with the experience. Their hiring process is very, very slow. Meanwhile the position that I applied to has been vacant since July 2018!!!!

What is the best part of working at the company?
Great place to learn clinical skills as an intern.  During the time period that I worked at Acacia / Promesa, it was an extremely busy place.  Plenty of opportunity to learn and apply clinical skills. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Completing paperwork was a daily battle due to the high volume of patients seen on an ongoing basis.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
A busy, revolving door. However, employees were very respectful, patient and friendly for the most part.  

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I would start out the day with an assigned schedule usually with new intakes (new patients); completing a comprehensive psychosocial including review of medications and administering various assessment scales. I generally spent the afternoon seeing patients for counseling/therapy and completing paperwork. When complete I would make referrals to the appropriate interdisciplinary staff according patients' need.

Since starting working with this company, I started as a "Escort", meaning I was in charge in escorting clients to various appointments (Medical, Legal, etc.)  My work schedule was Monday through Friday from 8am to 4pm.  My schedule then changed from Sunday through Thursday from 8am to 4pm.  Then it changed to overnight from 12am - 8am,  My title has changed as well from Escort to Operations.  

My typical night would consist of checking all clients, exits, paperwork to see if everything is normal.  Make rounds during the night, post it in the log book, wake clients up for breakfast, clean the house and repeat it the following day.  

Management usually gets involved if something goes wrong, that usually doesn't happen.  My co-workers and I usually handle any situation that presents itself.

The hardest part of the job is also the most enjoyable and rewarding as well.  Talking to the clients into doing something positive, being a better role model to himself and others is very difficult and also rewarding when or if client thrive.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Case manager 20 salaries reported	$54,112 per year
Program director 23 salaries reported	$80,652 per year
Peer advocate 14 salaries reported	$22.42 per hour
Housing specialist 9 salaries reported	$26.27 per hour
Licensed practical nurse 20 salaries reported	$33.91 per hour

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