residential counselor

case manager

clinical support specialist

janitor

registered nurse

DESC

I agree with DESCs philosophy and vision. I enjoyed working with the clients. The problem  was that and.there co workers. very rude and made derogatory  statements about race ,age, weight. The exact words used cannot be written here.HR and management did little to address the situation.I was not then only victim. One staff made a man who was not yet an employee was forced to mop urine off of the floor she said "I'm in charge here" These staff were also abused clients. There was a very confused man who showed up at the lobby 
and was escorted out of the building with no follow up what so ever.Two times the staff yelled at clients in the middle of medical emergencies.  Management did not support staff. Like the time I expressed my safety concerns about the room the medication was. There was no way for the clients to enter in walkers and wheelchairs with out  risking a fall. There were heavy boxes which  in front of the refrigerator where the insulin was kept.There were dirty insulin syringes on the floor. The management person I consulted told me to clean up the room myself.Also , management did not provide the technical training was not provided. There are very dedicated staff at the shelter and only a few who were abusive,showed no empathy and treated clients like they were in a prison.

This is a job that is easy and has a lot of pros and cons. My personal management is wonderful. They are very good to us, and understand that this at job, at times can be a very stressful job due to working with people who have various mental illnesses along with a different varitey of drug addictions. The thing I love about this place is its randomness; you never know what's going to happen on my shift. it can be dull as I watch time go by, waiting for an array of different interactions with my clients. Than In a moments notice, it will heat up. Working on 3rd and Yesler can provide for some pretty intense situations that my require us to intervene. 

        The culture is very laid back with a super casual dress code. The hardest part of this job for me is not ever being home due to putting insane amounts of hours in due to the poor pay rate. I also find that it has been difficult to notice how I can make a positive impact on someone's life when there are so much drugs and other vices that block human progression and self care. I wanted to help when I first started working here and still, but sometimes this situation feels hopeless. I do enjoy the professional relationships that I share with my clients. To me, there is no feeling in the world such as knowing that my clients have enough trust in me to open up and no that I'm the person they can go to if they're having a hard day and in need of an ear.

If you have a passion for helping others in the social work field or want to get your foot into the door. This company is your best bet in the area. Within 6 months you will have work experience that is the equivalent to years in this field. All paid training's are provided in abundance some are mandatory others are for advancement. Open door policy for the most part i have never had any issues communicating with peers  or upper management.  The hardest part of the job is also the best part of the job the population you work with . Some days you will feel fulfilled other days you will feel like you are unappreciated and never praised.  When i first came into this field i was like a sponge eager to learn and interact with clientele. Overtime the field in general may burn you out and it may be time to move on. However many employees at DESC leave and come back or they leave a full time position and stay on call for those few shifts a month.  Lots of room for advancement and growth. My best advice is always feel proud of the service you have provided to the clientele and professionals in this realm. However know when it is time to move on or to take PTO. After almost 4 years of service i am now moving into a different field.

DESC is doing some of the most innovative work in the country, working to provide and maintain housing for people with long histories of homelessness, trauma, and behavioral health needs. The people who DESC serves are often turned away from other programs for many reasons, but DESC has a solid organizational culture of recognizing the inherent worth of those they serve.

Also, the people who work for DESC are amazing. They are committed to doing work that is often very challenging and doing it in a way that respects both clients and coworkers. 

I have a great deal of respect for people throughout the organization, line staff, admin, management, and at the director level. The organization is woefully under-resourced, but the people do amazing work with what is available.

A lot of POC didn't feel appreciated here, therefore a lot of them left, and myself included. Elitist supervisors, mainly from the outreach teams, who only supported themselves. This company isn't one that supports POC, and therefore I'd never work, or want to work, with them. This includes collaboration with DESC outreach teams. 1.7 years is how long one usually stays, but it's probably when they start to figure out how hard it is to work with the supervisors at DESC. A lot of the supervisors come from privileged backgrounds, but lack the understanding of how it truly is to grow up in Seattle as a POC. 

DESC will continue to survive as a company, but forever be seen as an afterthought for those who want to stay committed to working for the people of Seattle who truly need the help. A lot of the supervisors at DESC lack insight to life in general, and they will continue to be a revolving door for employees. 



At DESC I was punished repeatedly for standing up for myself and discriminated against for standing up for my LGBTQ+ residents and for standing up as a union member for my co-workers. I worked hard to create policies that challenged the status quo of ignoring violence between residents, as management did whatever they could to stifle progress and when the bargaining team fought against targeting of union members, they did everything they could to intimidate those union members. In addition, they fought recognizing the LGBTQ+ community in their stats and have a long history of racist promotion and disciplinary actions. Change does not happen if you do not hold people accountable.

DESC Housing programd have a culture of throwing people into positions without proper training. The system they use for case management is archaic and old, hard to learn. Supervisors are left unsupported -- especially if they are new to DESC and didn't get promoted from within. It's a sink or swim type of position, and upper management makes arbitrary rules instead of following policy.

Lots of burn-out because people don't feel supported in their roles.

DESC is expanding fast but they're building on shaky ground. They are taking funding away from clients - they offer no supportive services within Housing and often rely on outside service providers to provide services. 

Working with the severely mentally ill, substance use dependent, homeless population is extremely challenging in and of itself, but add to it a lack of competent, experienced supervisors, no paid holidays (not even holiday pay, you have to use your own PTO to cover even when the office is closed), coworkers who are unhealthily and emotionally attached to their jobs and their clients, and unreasonable demands on your time, and you have a recipe for burnout and high staff turnover. There is a lot of talk about work-life balance and self-care but in reality it is rarely practiced by staff at any level. The result is a toxic work environment.

What is the best part of working at the company?
The clients were the best thing about the agency. Administratively they sucked.


What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The Company culture the work culture was not good. Lots of turnover. High case loads and a ridiculas amount of paperwork

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
It was good sometimes but generally I didn't like it. Lots of right out of college folks that think they know everything. If you've been in the field it's hard to work with headstrong and idiolistic 20 year olds.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Short sessions with clients. Due to the work load I had about 15 minutes to see anyone. LOTS OF PAPERWORK.

It's difficult to work in crisis intervention, but DESC does its best to help their employees. The wages aren't the best, but it's not bad considering it's a non-for-profit organization that tries to help everyone regardless of other issues that might bar them from other places. PTO acquires fast, but that's because there are no holidays that are guaranteed off. Good for those who don't celebrate holidays like Labor Day; bad for those who hope to have Christmas and Thanksgiving off. The culture is relaxed--language, attire, even tattoos aren't an issue, as long as you're good to each other and your clients.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Residential counselor 139 salaries reported	$32.92 per hour
Case manager 57 salaries reported	$39.87 per hour
Clinical support specialist 66 salaries reported	$39.77 per hour
Janitor 40 salaries reported	$33.30 per hour
Registered nurse 35 salaries reported	$110,874 per year

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