case manager

program specialist

program manager

program assistant

financial administrator

Metro Housing|Boston

As a representative, you're the bottom of the barrel.  You serve Section 8 participants in helping recertify their vouchers.  This can be meaningful and fulfilling work, but the workload is overbearing and the expectations are unrealistic.  

Managing a 400+ caseload, you will be bombarded with paperwork, participants constantly changing/losing their jobs and adding/removing members and wanting to move.  Many times it is legitimate, but sometimes they are trying to game the system to get their rent lowered.  And they often provide insufficient paperwork, delaying the process.  They won't understand this and some people will call you nonstop up to 6 times a day, or worse, show up to the office and refuse to leave until you see them, bordering on HARASSMENT.  They'll complain to a manager or other higher up that you don't pick up the phone.  

Some managers are helpful and understanding and will work with you; others will just let you drown.  There just need to be better standards across the board, and better communication between departments before jumping to blame program representatives for everything.

Run FAR AWAY! 
Do not take the job. I know the money seems good. It’s a trap. This place is the WORST PLACE I have ever worked. It has no organization or training. They will literally hand you a laptop & caseload and expect you produce. There is NO TRAINING except irrelevant outside monthly ones that do not pertain to your job. The overwork and burnout is REAL. I had never experienced work burnout prior to this job. It’s overwhelming. 

I was literally given a laptop at my onboarding and told “call us when you get home”. That’s it. Nothing more. No exaggeration. Followed by given a caseload of almost 30 people with little to no background history. 

They will constantly tell you that your max caseload is (x amount) then add another 5, 10, 15, 20 & then tell you that “max caseload isn’t a term we use at Metro Housing Boston.” 

Do not take the job unless you want to hate it in 3 months or less. The money they pay is bait. The work climate is toxic. The higher ups do not care about a single thing other than maintaining a perfect, professional image to their funders, even if it means their staff is struggling to remain afloat. It’s all an illusion. 0/10 would not recommend. 

They also have an EXTREMELY high turnover rate. 

Don’t take the job. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. 

High and unrealistic expectations from management, no appreciation for the work, only demanding more and more without any benefit. HR is militant and clearly doesn’t care about employees, only management and the company. Toxic attitude towards applicants and employees. If you get promoted it can take up to 2 years for your job title and salary to get updated in the system. Very unorganized. They will hold your last paycheck and accuse you of damaging work technology. I have never encountered a company like this. Case loads are too high and unreasonable, they assign you more cases  but then fill your week with pointless zoom meetings so you have less time to work on cases and are constantly behind. If you get laid off they will sneakily avoid giving you severance by offering a position in another department even though they don’t have a space for you in that department. They will take you to court over unemployment claims. This company really needs a huge restructure, it’s not a surprise their employee turnover rate is so high. They treat their employees like children and like garbage. 

There's a housing crisis in this country.  There are far too few vouchers for the multitudes of people who need them.  This makes being a leasing officer incredibly stressful.  The paperwork is just overwhelming and you can feel like you're fighting a losing battle, most days.  That being said, during my time at Metro, I found solace with great colleagues (some of whom became friends), and a manager who understood and empathized, and offered their support whenever they could.  You have to have a lot of heart to stay in this work, because you will often have to "tough it out".  But if you find a calling and can get over the hurdles, this might be for you.

A “non-profit” but ran like a major corp. The managers are tyrants who like to micro manage and spew orders all day.. The workload is heavy and it will continue to get heavier depending on where MHB falls within other RAA’s. All they care about it NUMBERS, your mental health will deteriorate while you are there just trying to keep up with the workload. They continue to push and push until you quit and leave the company. The good workers are not able promoted, and the lousy ones are still there getting paid. The whole place is a circus and if they had employees that actually cared about serving instead of the “mean girls” verbally attacking you or being you down, then the “non profit” would get a lot further. Just run. 

My time at Metro Housing Boston was unfortunately marked by a hostile and cliquey work environment. The collaboration between HR and management often felt more focused on protecting each other than supporting employees. Concerns raised were rarely taken seriously, and the lack of basic respect and professionalism from leadership was deeply discouraging. The culture fosters favoritism, and it’s clear that employee well-being is not a priority. Unsurprisingly, turnover is extremely high, which speaks volumes about the workplace dynamics. I hope the organization reflects on these issues and makes the changes necessary to support a healthier and more inclusive environment.

The best thing I can say about this company is that everyones intentions are great but the company has serious organizational issues and have offers little to no training. My experience was like being thrown in the deep end of a pool and my only options were to sink or learn to swim.  My guess is the company is going through growing pains due to COVID and the ever increasing population dealing with housing insecurity. As they get additional funds from various avenues, it seems like it all goes to hiring more staff to deal with the incredible amount of people that need help. The additional money would be better spent reorganizing and retraining the existing staff.

I enjoyed working @ Metro Housing Boston the first few years. As I grew with Metro, I realized if you are not senior management and are obtaining raises, they will do anything to find a reason to lay you off or terminate you. Metro Housing is clicky, competitive and the farthest from a "TEAM" I wouldnt recommend any friend or family working their since you never know when your last day is. I reported FRAUD and was terminated due to them not wanting to deal with it, sweeping it under the rug as long as I was no longer their.

Heavy heavy workload, constant turnover. 

Definitely need more specialized roles as the program is complex and it is nearly impossible to learn how to do everything as the program and requirements are constantly changing. Causes lot of delays and work build up because you are left in the dark. It is difficult to manage your monthly caseload as well as all the other interims and responsibilities you may not know how to navigate. 

Salary is not equivalent to the work load, you will be working overtime to handle your caseload or risk falling behind. Difficult to maintain work/life balance. 

Some managers are very helpful and understanding, but that is not the case across the board. 

Really great training on section-8 and learning the voucher process. Easy to work your way up. Lots of great coworkers. Once I took a lead position, things got a lot more difficult to manage as I was doing the work of three people
at one point and not being compensated for it. Informed supervisors for months, to no avail. This was a widespread problem throughout the agency when I was there.  Had multiple interactions with senior staff that left much to be desired. All in all, I enjoyed most of my time there and was eager to take advantage of the opportunities to learn and grow, but over working and under paying have lead to incredibly high turn over at MHB. 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Case manager 3 salaries reported	$50,100 per year
Program specialist 3 salaries reported	$48,492 per year
Program manager 6 salaries reported	$66,437 per year
Program assistant 1 salary reported	$49,225 per year
Financial administrator 1 salary reported	$51,175 per year

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