case manager

service coordinator

mental health technician

medical assistant

employment specialist

Central City Concern

The position with with Central City Concern was my first job after grad school therefore I was wide eyed and freshly tuned to offer my new skills in the  field of case management and housing advocacy. 

My position consisted of finding and securing housing for Homeless Veterans (women, men, and families). A busy morning would consist of going through emails and prioritizing them based on an execution timeline. Emails concerning clients would get handled first then operational emails (staff meetings, training's etc). An busy afternoon would wave in 2-3 clients to interview and to discuss needs assessments, goal setting according to the client's projections, and close cases if specific goals were met. My work days enable me be become proficient in interviewing and detailing protocols that insured positive results with clients. 

Central City Concern supported a casual but driven culture. This was my favorite part of the job.  I engaged with fellow staff members, managers, and key executives regularly. In these interactions I was reminded that team management and cooperative leadership works wonders. Since Central City Concern's mission consisted of delivering multicultural and economic direct services, most staff members seemed to be progressive and inclusive by default.  We were encouraged to meet clients where they were and use compassionate problem solving to engage. We trained repetitively on sharping the small valuable exchanges like communication skills so larger conflicts could be handled with ease. 

This also became the hardest part of the job. Meeting people where they are isn't the easiest task on the board. Delivery direct services by way of "gentle personal-ism" takes practice and patience. However I'm grateful to have learned these skills and I'm proud to continue to use them in environments that foster them. 

Furthermore, through my case management practice I discovered that a legal path may be more satisfying for my social palate. Being engaged with policy and macro political landscapes heightened my awareness to where advocacy is needed most.

Unless you want to be a miserable person I suggest you keep it pushing.. This is a great company to get something on your resume. This company is a great push but this is not a place you want to stay at for to long. Unless your kissing some serious butt then you will always be told to stick to your job description. 

If you do anything extra or ask for help then they tell you that your doing to much and need to worry about your own stuff. Its a company that bullies their way to the top. Yes you can advance but if they already know someone who is applying then they are more then likely to get the job over you even if you have the skills, that's just how the company is ran. If someone does not like you then they will turn everyone against you. Its literally like high school. They tell you not to do this and that THEN ask you to do something for them that they already told you that you are not supposed to do! SO confusing right? 

One of my supervisors is such an amazing person and is very good at the job, instead of learning from that person they just ignore and complain.

Some good parts of the job is that you get to watch the clients grow so much and come in with nothing and leave with so much joy. I have some great co-workers and then I have some terrible co-workers. It was so bad that I cried at work several times because of the way that I was treated, I have some people telling me how great I am doing and killing it and then had other people say that I ask for to much.

I think how you work depends on how much you will like this job or not. Like I said its a great company but it has its disadvantages. Also some of the benefits suck big time. If you are in the union then you are very lucky and they will fight for you! The union is the best part of this company, they really work hard to get the staff what they need. I can guarantee that if you are not in the union then you will never get a raise. 

I work as an On call front desk/custodian. Central City has given me a chance to transition back into the workforce after a long period of unemployment. Before working here I made mistakes that led me into addiction, a criminal lifestyle and felony charges, with no hope of reentry as a functioning member of society. At Central City Concern I didnt ever feel like I was being judged on my past because they understand people can recover and want a healthy and productive lifestyle. They provide a 2 week group computer/scenario training and then schedule you individual on the job training at a number of their housing/medical/admin locations. You'll be placed on the Staff Replacement Form for coverage and get calls frequently for work. They also have a program called Deputy Dispatch where you will receive text messages for open shifts as sent to all on all calls and is based on a first reply first serve basis, so reply fast! If you want 40hrs/week its easy to get or if you're just looking for some extra money here and there you can pick up shifts at your convenience.  This position is a temporary 1 year position with opportunity for hire full-time if you apply within. My 1 year will be up in a few months and I have applied to multiple positions but haven't been hired while several of those I trained with have, so ill just keep applying and have no doubt ill be full time before the year is up. 

I love the flexibility of the schedule and how I get to work in different places every day if I want

CCC is a very caring organization, to both clients and staff. Company culture is very strong. Most are there because they want to be, and want to create change. Almost everyone cares about the cause, and most believe they are doing the right thing. I have never worked anywhere with so many dedicated, long time staff members. The PTO is also pretty generous.

CCC is also a VERY forgiving organization... To its detriment. Management seem completely unable to hold staff accountable, which creates toxic environments at multiple locations. Although Unions have their place, the union at CCC is strong and involved. Currently the Union is only concerned with expanding, and it appears it will go to any lengths to support this.

They also lack advancement opportunities. CCC does not give merit based raises or bonuses. The only way to get a "raise" is to change jobs to a higher paying position. Staff only receive annual standard of living increases. Staff need to be compensated for their skills, education and experience. Aside from executives, staff are significantly underpaid. The cost of living in Portland is increasing rapidly. CCC is losing a significant number of experienced staff due to lack of compensation and mismanagement. I do not see this slowing down unless they start working on these changes now.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Best part is set hours and a set schedule with no nights or weekends and 11 paid holidays.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Huge double standards or rule enforcement. No consistency between managers or pharmacists so you're going to be doing something wrong every day. Volatile patients are daily, and a pharmacist will only step in if they feel like it. Some will not leave their station for anything. You are told to keep up with the very fast workflow but punished or fired for making mistakes. HR is only interested in firing people if they respond at all. If you need FMLA, you must figure it out alone, HR will not help or gives wrong info.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Patient comes first at all times. That means staff comes last and anything is always your fault.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
daily call outs, short staff, patients expect everything in 3omin or less, volatile situations will be heard and seen daily, pharmacists will scroll through phones or shop online while you need them to check meds or consult patients. Rewarding moments come from helping people who cannot afford care get medications.

I really enjoyed a lot of things about working for CCC, but the company has many different properties and I'm only family with a few of them and only really worked at the Golden West in particular.  I miss the commeraderie and diversity of my team there, as well as the cool little office I had in that 120 year old building that was likely haunted (but benevolently so).  I think there was some very strong, wise, charismatic leadership around that building in particular, which I find myself missing from time to time in recent months.  I think the company does a lot of good for the city of Portland as it has for some 50 years now, but in very recent times I think I started to see a bit more of a progressive shift in the culture (hopefully) that has been historically very old-school.. not to knock it, it definitely works for some people and there's much institutional wisdom therein..  I must say I do miss my old coworkers there, and it's been too long!

CCC has some of the most compassionate, talented staff on the planet, and an incredible mission to help everyone. Problem is, they refuse to accept that this ideal is impossible to reach, so they expect staff to be all things to all people instead of setting any kind of standard for what the agency is and isn't able to do. It doesn't help that management is so separate from staff and clients that they quickly lose sight of the challenges faced on the ground. Everyone, from the CEO on down, should be required to spend a day providing client-facing care every few months. If they did, they might catch things like this: PTO is generous, but our clients have such acuity of need that finding coverage and coming back just feels more stressful then coming to work. Or that working conditions are ripe for burnout and trauma, and CCC isn't prepared to help their staff before or after the fact. I really hope CCC can become worthy of their reputation, and of their wonderful staff, again. But right now, any applicant should be cautious.

Overall, the management is poor. They don’t provide performance reviews and the rate of pay is similar to unfair labor practices considering our communities everyday struggles. You’re not offered overtime at all. There are people who are in management roles who have no idea on what it takes to successfully manage a team. Smoke breaks are accepted and take as many as you want, but if u have to work through passed your clock out hours you get a talking to. There’s too many people in Director positions and middle management. It’s no wonder why the rate of pay is so terrible. The benefits at one time helped to some degree of leveraging an excuse to stay, but not anymore as the organization has somehow managed to decrease that more than3%. The amount of work and effort needed to do your job right is never rewarded from a salary point of review. 

Work at Central City Concern
Achieving Central City Concern’s mission would be impossible without dedicated, compassionate people.

When you join our team, you’re part of a staff that’s driven to make a difference at all levels of the organization — and across fields including health care, pharmacy, social services, housing, nonprofit leadership and administration.

From professional staff to medical assistants to maintenance workers, we value both formal education and lived experience as preparation for the work we do. This aspect of our culture means you’ll have a chance to make an impact from day one.

CCC’s work environment is collaborative, supportive and offers generous benefits. You’ll also find many opportunities for professional growth to help you realize your full potential.

I had a great job that was flexible.

A typical day for me would begin by meeting with other practitioners such as doctors, occupational therapists, acupuncturists, and review clients of concern or daily plans. Then I would generally run a provider group covering topics related to pain management. This was often followed by running a wellness group such as cooking nutritious meals, or the benefits of aromatherapy, etc. Next I would run a mental health group such as DBT and Art Therapy. Lastly, if I was lucky, I would be able to get in a individual therapy session or two with a client(s).

My coworkers were great and were wonderful allies in the trenches!

The most enjoyable part of my job was how flexible it was in that it allowed me to allocate my time to what I saw fit the needs of the clinic.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Case manager 3 salaries reported	$22.15 per hour
Service coordinator 3 salaries reported	$21.53 per hour
Mental health technician 4 salaries reported	$60,162 per year
Medical assistant 1 salary reported	$20.75 per hour
Employment specialist 1 salary reported	$19.75 per hour

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