behavioral specialist

clinician

case manager

care worker

counselor

Eliot Community Human Services

I currently work as a full-time case worker/ program supervisor in Cambridge MA serving the homeless population. Many of our clients are Spanish speaking individuals and most of them have substance abuse issues.  I work closely with them, due to the language barrier, to provide them with the best care needed to get them back into the work field and live independent lives. There are those that are in need of other care, such as to assist with temporary housing search; health insurance, detox and post detox programs, clothing vouchers, job search and many more.  Many of our clients stay at local shelters therefore needing additional help with referrals to evening meal programs or to other shelters.

In addition to being a case manager, I am also a program supervisor and oversee the entire operation of the program. My responsibilities include providing breakfast and lunch to our clients; manage the kitchen area to ensure the preparation of meals meet company standards; the oversight of all food being donated to the program from local food banks, as well as clothing donations. I enjoy the work that I do every day knowing that I am contributing to ending homelessness in the Cambridge area. I work hard and can be counted on to “get the job done.” 

My previous employment was working for Maximus, a company contracted by the State of Massachusetts for Mass Health medical insurance. During my years there, I worked with member services in the managed care department, where I ensure that all members are enrolled in an MCO, MBHP or senior health plan with Medicare. This would accommodate the needs of members, specialists and primary care physicians.  I was promoted to becoming a supervisor soon after, where I was able to supervise a team of new customer care representatives to ensure that they followed company guidelines and HIPAA procedures. Prior to my departure, I was promoted to becoming a research specialist. My job description was to perform call back escalations for members and provider billing, who have experienced some sort of dissatisfaction due to managed care enrollment, billing, and complaints with coverage type.

This is NO place for an Admin!!!!! At first it seemed liked a great company to work for, however that was not the case. I felt like I was walking on eggshells the entire time; they are so deceitful not to mention unreliable. They were happy with my performance in the beginning, although after a short while, they began sabotaging my work continually.  The hardest part of the job for me was dealing with difficult clients, a needy, clinging admin and being reevaluated by the management team on a daily basis. On the upside I learned about the Human services field by working at a Mental Health/Substance Abuse Outpatient clinic. My enjoyment came from working with the clients, clinicians and the therapists. You should only work here if you are a nurse or therapist!!! This is because they are treated like fellow employees that are on the same level as the Director of the clinic.  However, the administrative support staff are treated as if they are less than, despite the fact that they do the bulk of the work to ensure the office is running smoothly. Although, the director only favors the Medical Assistant that works with the administrative staff.

I began working here shortly after adapting the ACCS model.  Although I have my own feelings about the ACCS model, when I was first hired, I was given little direction which easily could of been the result of leadership not knowing what was expected when switching from CBFS to ACCS.  I found the work like balance difficult with on-call as well as management not utilizing efficient use of work time with the over-use of meetings.  The office had frequent audits from DMH which was a direct response of not doing what is supposed to be done with following through with the ACCS model.  Salary is difficult to live off of.  Using personal vehicle can be expensive and at times when having clients in your personal vehicle, it can receive some interior damage.  Management will sometimes ask you to do things that are rather uncomfortable when engaging with clients such as show up to client's residence unannounced.  If you want experience outside of a hospital or group home setting this is a good place, however for long term I would not recommend.  The most difficult part of the job is at times feeling like a client's Uber.  Some clients tend to become dependent on case workers to meet their needs.

 I had an extremely disappointing experience at Eliot. As an intern, I was never trusted to do my job properly and was restricted from working with my own clients without justifiable cause. Instead of fostering a supportive learning environment, the management seemed intent on pushing me out.

What makes this even more frustrating is that I was very good at establishing rapport with clients, and all the kids I worked with seemed to like me. I never had any issues with a client or their parents—only with the management itself.

The worst part was being falsely accused of harassment without ever being given a chance to share my side of the story. I was never presented with any evidence, nor was I given the opportunity to defend myself. The entire process felt like a deliberate effort to remove me rather than a fair and objective investigation.

If you’re considering working here, be aware that the company culture lacks transparency and integrity. Interns, in particular, should be cautious, as trust and due process do not seem to be priorities for this organization.

At first I was very excited to work for Eliot, I'd heard great things about the company. But getting into the company and working here is a bit of a nightmare. The management, or my management in particular, was extremely unprofessional, never did their jobs and pushed their work onto their employees while they would stay on their phone and do nothing all day. They would get very annoyed if a client or employee came into the office while they were doing personal work. Staff had no sense of confidentiality when it came to speaking in front of clients about other clients. Management and staff would talk negatively about previous employees, and current employees, behind their back rather than management holding a meeting  or speaking to that employee in private about their behavior to improve the work environment. Management never held staff meetings to discuss issues in the house. Management also misgendered clients in the household, despite knowing clients gender. There is no "LGBTQ+ support" at this company, for employees or clients. I could go on and on about the issues that I've found about this company while working here.

Typical day at work varies depending on location (different cities) and department (DCF, DMH, DD, DYS, etc). The immediate atmosphere is manageable, especially if coworkers and supervisors are cohesive. Upper management has serious communication deficits and follow through on their end is nonexistent. It appears that many administrative positions have minimal insight into what actually occurs at numerous programs, as a whole. Non-administration is part of a union, which can be a double edged sword (it may work for or against an employee; most often performs negotiations poorly); therefore, know your rights as an employee. Time management may be one of the most difficult portions of the job, especially with low pay, requiring many employees to work extra shifts or second/third jobs. Relief of shift is not always guaranteed on a given day. Some days the clients being served are the challenge, while other days, it is the administration/corporation as a whole, that is the challenge.

A typical workday included preparation of breakfast/lunch items, a staff review of clients who may be in a state of crisis, individual counseling sessions, distribution of clothing, hygiene and other items clients may need, preparation for street-outreach, input of information into the State/Federal computer data collection system.

Among the many things I learned during my time at Eliot, the most significant was that given sufficient patient efforts aimed at inspiring, motivating, helping clients develop a suitable plan for building support systems, many clients achieve small successes they can build upon.

The most difficult part of the job was building relationships with outside providers who are not motivated to fulfilling client needs.

The most enjoyable moments included watching clients overcome obstacles through perseverance and hard work to end their homeless and substance abuse condition, and or reach mental health stabilization.

Upper managements plans are often very well developed and based on evidence based approaches, but staff lack the numbers or facilities to effectively implement them.
Very little consistency in day to day operations
Youth culture is toxic and have extremely high recidivism rate.
High staff turnover rate, very little depth of experience to grow positive working cultures that sustain constructive operations.
Plenty of overtime with double pay for locked in shift rotations.
Middle management is generally overworked and juggling to many jobs at once and their ability to take on new tasks is diminished or solve rapidly evolving problems diminishes.
509 Union support is laughably ineffective, haven't seen a union boss in 6 years of employment, though Union Stewards are incredibly effective in their place.
Generally all staff get along well, the training is good and the therapy provided from clinical teams is consistent and adapts quickly to youth needs.

Held a few different roles in Eliot. A good non-profit agency to work for, I would go back to Eliot before any other human service agency in Mass. You make what you put in (work experience, compensation). If you have great work ethics, education and common sense you can have a good, stable job. You can hold a position and do another job within the company that doesn’t conflict with your primary role.  While working for Eliot I always felt I had job opportunities thats tailored to my career goals if I wanted.  Not a shady company that under hands their employees. They have a great training regime. First week is at main office,  get all the training you need for your position prior to starting a position. If your like me and have gone back and left on and off,  the first training week you only attend trainings you need. 

I work with individuals with mental illness. I've been working with this population for more then nine years. I would love to be a psychiatric nurse. I want to get a degree and psychology. I learned to be very honest and calmer working with patients that are usually anxious in a day to day basis. I'm able to manage medications, finaces, medical appointments as well as basic needs. My co-workers range from regular visiting nurses to physicians. It's important to communicate to all of tehm about the person i serve. The hardest part of the job is when other people from the outside judge the individuals that i serve of theri behavior or apperances. It upsets me very much. I love the fact that i get to serve diferent type of patients every day. I also get to be a great listener to these people and love to see them porgress towards their goals.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Behavioral specialist 260 salaries reported	$20.59 per hour
Clinician 150 salaries reported	$67,616 per year
Case manager 101 salaries reported	$56,755 per year
Care worker 1 salary reported	$18.40 per hour
Counselor 95 salaries reported	$19.93 per hour

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