youth counselor

case manager

overnight manager

director

senior youth counselor

Ali Forney Center

The Ali Forney has a wonderful mission and fulfills that mission via a dedicated staff committed to the cause of serving homeless LGBTQ youth. Staff at the Harlem drop-in center are team oriented, hard working and are tasked with juggling multiple roles. Additional roles such as monitoring and covering parts of the large drop-in space can conflict with essential job responsibilities. My role was to HIV test, manage a lucrative contract, monitor and supervise the drop-in, perform intensive case management, facilitate youth groups, conflict management, and I was expected to participate in lunch or dinner service a few times a week. Youth were able to have free access to the entire space at virtually all times, and you were required to have your door open unless you were meeting with a youth. The space was loud and it was very difficult to accomplish what was expected in a reasonable weekly work schedule. 

AFC does like to hire from within. Interns will be hired and staff will be promoted to fill new or abandoned positions. Internal staff trainings and frequent and I was able to learn about crisis de-escalation, suicide prevention, motivational interviewing, child abuse prevention and more. The youth are resilient and so very inspiring.

There is an expected "all hands on deck" policy that you will get tired of hearing, especially because there is little time to document all of what you are required to, which is overwhelming. Upper management is not supportive of worker needs. My supervisor made it clear that youth served were more important than the needs of the employees. Pay is well below average and management will tell you that pay is competitive. This is not the case at all. Raises are nonexistent for mid level and entry level employees. Management does not like to hear any criticism and you have no protection if you fall out of favor. You can be written up and placed on an employee improvement plan, which in one case contained false information, and actions that were called out as unacceptable that have been going on at the agency by others. 

AFC is not a bad place to gain some experience right out of school if you need a job. Just be aware that it is a crisis center and burn out may come for you. Fast. The place desperately needs a union.

What is the best part of working at the company?
My co workers was the best part 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The residents and the higher ups 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Toxic environment the residents run the place and can make up lies about you at any point. The higher ups always take their word over yours even when the residents have a history or making up stories. The residents will brag about get someone fired and the supervisor and director won’t do a thing about it. They use and abuse you 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
12 -14 hours since someone is always late or doesn’t show up. Alot back and forth since clients always miss curfew & does not like to sign write ups

What is the best part of working at the company?
You get to make a big difference in the lives of vulnerable lgbt youth.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The lack of communication from the supervisory staff to the people who are on the ground floor.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Chaotic because of lack of communication. Youth counselors look out for each other. Definite division of supervisory to direct care staff. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Monitor youth comings and goings throughout the day, answering phone calls, record keeping, maybe lead a group.

Ali Forney is a place that will always be special and near to my heart. The staff is like a family and a big community and there is so much to learn from one another. Working the night shift in general is extremely hard. Working with at risk youth is also extremely hard. Putting these two together is almost impossible and yet so many youth counselors have done it and continue to make it a safe space for so many lgbtq youth. I truly loved working there and would have stayed longer if I was able to work in the day and got paid a better wage.

This organization, in theory, should be doing fantastic work to help LGBT homeless youth. However, they fail 90% of the time. The "leadership" is a joke and is unprofessional and sorry to say but gettho. They will not appreciate your work but will quickly point out all your flaws and shortcomings. They will also offer empty words and promises of support. The youth I work with are the only thing I enjoy being here, and the staff. We also get paid very little for this position which is high stress and requires enormous emotional labor. Stay away if you can. 

Helping homeless youth is 100% rewarding. However when your supervisor is trash and so is HR and management you dont even feel happy going to work. They let employees be late affecting good employees that have to go to other jobs or attend to their children. Overall working at Ali Forney was a bad idea. Besides the work I did with the youth, other then that, management need to step it up.

As a parent of three kids I like the flexibility and the 12-hour shifts. I was able to complete a work week of pay in 3 days. I loved my clients. It was stressful because of the population that I had to cater to. It was rewarding and if I didn't have health issues I would still be there.

One area that needed help was the job culture and management. In social services we needed an outlet as employees to help us be better suited for the young people we serve.

... which would sound ideal in a utopia; but given the highly vulnerable population being served l; it often results in the residents needs not being adequately met nor the staff being supported. Supervisors are not qualified nor supportive. Recipe for disaster where most incidents could have been avoided if the properly educated management was hired and paid fairly. 

They say that they are big on providing support to staff but majority of the workers end up leaving. You'll eventually find yourself swamped with work and no coworkers to help. They care more about the clients than they do the workers wellbeing. Clients can walk all over you and the higher ups "meet" about it just to decide the client can continue to disrespect you. If you're looking for a quick job that you'll eventually leave in a few months to a year, then this is the place for you

Great joyful environment very supportive management  as well as staff. i loved going into the space everyday because i knew their would be something different going on with the clients or staff it was very heart feeling. There would e good and bad times despite the fact that we were a drop-in center for homeless LGBTQ youth.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Youth counselor 55 salaries reported	$21.54 per hour
Case manager 3 salaries reported	$64,377 per year
Overnight manager 10 salaries reported	$63,180 per year
Director 3 salaries reported	$75,600 per year
Senior youth counselor 5 salaries reported	$23.76 per hour

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