direct support professional

engineering team leader

community team leader

assistant team leader

receptionist

Mainstream-Living

What is the best part of working at the company?
Th clients are usually so happy to have someone pay attention to them.  Usually they do not get to leave their home on weekends and we would take themo ut  for breakfast or to the dollar tree store or to garage sales and they relly enjoyed the actitivities.  We also took them to church on Sundays and had them help make the evenngs meals.  We took them to the grocery store and let them choose thier cereal, yogurtand pizza.  this made them feel so good to have a choice.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
For me it was staff that wasn't very reliable about showing up on time for their shift.  Some would not have their voicemail turned on, so you coudn't leave a message.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Most of the staff would be great to work with and would be willing to help out if staff needed to take a shift off.  Some supervisors were great, others didn't want to be bothered with concerns.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
I worked weekends, so Saturday the client and staff did laundry, vacuumed their bedrooms, went grocery shopping, either fixed lunch at home or went out to eat.  Afternoons might be shopping, going to garagee sales and an occasional movie or birthday party,  Sundays afternoon breakfast, we would go to church where they had a special progrm for clients with speecial needs.  The clients loved church.  After church, we would gohome and have lunch.  In the afternoon, their would be movies at home.

The pay doesn’t reflect the amount of stress mentally and physically the job puts on staff. Some members that come in need more than what our company can service or provide but the company puts member needs to the side to continue bringing money into the company rather than outsourcing other places who could provide those things, while also putting strain on staff who are doing more than what they’re qualified for, and compromising the integrity of the so called values and mission statement they promote. Team leaders are hard to get ahold of and frequently place any of their own mistakes onto their staff creating a very difficult and uneasy work environment and relationship. The top people in the company are never on site to visit with members or check in with the staff. When staff have valid concerns or information to share with management regarding member info or anything of the sort, management is quick to disregard this and make the staff feel incompetent and at fault. If your staff are bringing up concern for a member this should be taken serious and not pushed off to the side. A lot of management aren’t working hand in hand with these members, the staff are, so the staff should be treated with respect and you should hear them out. Above all though, the staff are advocating for the members which the company encourages staff to do, and if management and the company as a whole claims to prioritize the overall well-being of members, listen when the staff are giving you their observations and concerns! 

Management at my site doesn’t care if clients make you feel unsafe and are violent with you. She will not take employee suggestions to make the house a better and safer environment. Can sometimes be a little cliquey, but overall the coworkers are one of my favorite parts of the job. You have to deal with some gross things like changing diapers, bathing, and cleaning spit, snot, and vomit, but these are par for the course. The clients can be argumentative and loud sometimes as well. Overall though, they are fun to work with, and it is a pretty low stress job. Pay starts at $11.00 an hour for residential DSPs. Could definitely be better. Training centered on the specific clients you will be working with would also be nice because the agency-provided training is very general. Management tends to sugarcoat a lot of things, so ask LOTS of questions. 

A typical day is dealing with behaviors, transportation, bathroom needs, bathing, passing meds, cooking meals, and helping the clients with their day to day routines. 
I learned that management does not care about the DSPs in any way. Lots of gaslighting, ignoring, and disregarding any concerns you have. They tell you to do something one way, and then turn around and change it the next.
The workplace culture is toxic. You will either become best friends or absolutely hate your coworkers and there is no in between. So many toxic people get hired to take care of disabled people, and nothing gets done. The zero tolerance policy is an absolute lie. Good employees are overworked and torn down, and awful employees are praised and get away with breaking any/all rules.
Hardest part of the job is not having any support from your team managers. They leave you hanging out to dry all of the time.
The only enjoyable part is making connections with the clients and the good memories you get to keep.

You show up assist clients get up and out of bed, Assist them getting showered and changed for the day. Assist them brush their teeth then prepared breakfast for them. Help clients get to the table safely. Feed clients if they need help or provide G-tube feeding if they require it. Administer medications. Assist clients with cleaning up their meals and then taking them to the restroom. Attend doctor appointments if scheduled or find a activity for the clients to do in the community. Provide transportation. Assist clients back home. Help clients get ready for lunch. Feed clients assist with medications. Help clean clients. Assist clients with any chores. Have clients help with maintaining a clean and healthy environment. Take clients to the restroom. Clean Client up assist with transferring client to bed if he/she takes nap. Document on client at end of shift and document on goals if met.

When I first started at MSL, I loved my job. I felt I was given the opportunity to grow, and achieve goals, dreams,  and the possibility of a job promotion. As new Team Leads started working at my site I was currently working in, they became more micromanaging, they took away job responsibilities, leaving me to feel I was not capable of doing my job anymore. I felt I was not heard  and no follow through was taken when reporting what I was trained to report my Mandatory Reporting training.  I then started to feel singled out, and I was then given less support and more negative management.  MSL left me feeling that you will succeed if you stay quiet and not report possible abuse situations. Mainstream Living supports staff that don’t go above and beyond their duties. I resigned due to Upper Management not following policies and procedures 

If you work for this company, you will be a replaceable warm body to fill the needed staff-to-member ratios. If they are short-staffed, they can and will overwork you and put your health in jeopardy.  There is heavy favoritism at every jobsite. People are fired for no good reason, while others who are unreliable and plain awful are kept around because of who they know.  

Some clients are abusive, and MSL will let them stay after hitting or kicking staff, and abusive behavior that could be punishable by law.  Their policies are to benefit the company and not the staff. Do not trust management or HR. You will be overworked and underpaid for what you do, and it will be well below industry standard in the area. 

You will gain experience with some pretty amazing members. They will appreciate you, and you will learn a lot. Go in with your eyes wide open if you choose to work at MSL. 

I worked for Mainstream Living while attending university as a full time student. I spent my tenure at Mainstream working in the same house with 4 young men who were classified as severely handicapped and in need of care staff 24 hours a day. Job activities in this house included feeding, bathing and toilet hygiene, transportation, and home cleaning. It is very hard to stay satisfied with $10/hour when you spend your days getting cottage cheese coughed in your face while the same Disney VHS or Spongebob episode plays on repeat for 8 hours. Additionally the manager of my site was often completely out of the loop on what was happening with the consumer's day to day lives. Several incidents of staff theft even went unnoticed and unstopped for some time.

Mainstream Living has great homes and members, but the job itself is lacking. The job description they push in the interview isn't exactly accurate and you basically are an underpaid CNA. The turnover rate is very high. New employees are there every day. This leaves new employees training newer employees as the supervisors are not at the house to train. It is also very hard to find someone to take your shift if you are sick. If you are sick you have to find your own replacement. Coworkers are not dependable and are often cliquey. Many younger coworkers are there to sit on their phones. Management lacks professionalism. I overall would not recommend.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Hostile environment, Do not work at this place u will regret it, they will overwork you, always asking if u can stay late, and the pay ain’t good !!! the only good thing about this company is bonus checks,

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part about this job is the houses, (especially the work) employees should be paid more than what they’re being paid now, supervisors also can use some professional classes on how to manage,

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Hostile environment, a bunch of drama,


What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Stressful, burnt out, ready to get off work,

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Direct support professional 18 salaries reported	$16.06 per hour
Engineering team leader 4 salaries reported	$17.00 per hour
Community team leader 1 salary reported	$47,900 per year
Assistant team leader 5 salaries reported	$18.00 per hour
Receptionist 1 salary reported	$15.00 per hour

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