residential assistant

residential manager

teaching assistant

special education teacher

speech language pathologist

The Guild for Human Services

Coming from someone who has seen many different parts of the company over the time I was there I have a very clear image of what it is. The Guild for Human Services is a great idea and their goal is a good one but to get to the facts behind closed doors its toxic all around. The students are amazing and being able to have connections with them is heartwarming! The staff on the floor are all overly helpful and they all have each other backs because they understand how bad it is. Classroom and Residential homes are severely understaffed and rather than the guild paying more they are taking in more kids and just expecting staff to make it work. Staff are out of ratio more times than they are in but staff have been yelled at for it even though upper management fail to give them enough staff. With there being such a shortage of staff means more people are getting hurt when kids are having behaviors BECAUSE there are no staff to help. The fact that the guild is missing a whole department right now shows how toxic the place really is. The staff deserve more money for the things the job puts them through and no matter how many times people say they need more the Guild says no. 

If you are looking for an Expressive Art Therapy position, this is NOT the position! They may advertise as such but you are really just a counselor fulfilling IEP mandates. A large portion of the day, I was stuck doing classroom coverage because they were always short-staffed with TA’s. So be prepared to assist students with their bathroom needs and participate in physical restraints on a daily basis. Then I was expected to complete a full caseload, on top of the TA direct-care work. Way too stressful. The sounds of screams in the hallway didn’t help with getting paperwork done. I hear that now there is no real therapeutic space to conduct sessions- therefore zero confidentiality. How do you conduct therapy without confidentiality?? The art supplies were garbage and the supervisor has zero interest/understanding in supporting Expressive Therapists. Respect from management is non existent. You are just a body filling up a space. I do not recommend working here. 

This is a tough, yet rewarding job if you can handle working with students with disabilities, which means at times having to your physical intervention as necessary. Many of the staff are dedicated and hard working, but not all. Management/admin make all of the decisions and do not seem to care about the impact it has on the direct care workers, educators or clinicians. They are too worried about being at student census and barely have enough staff to run the place. Clinicians are always in coverage rather than doing meaningful sessions and directors stay in their offices. This is not an easy job, especially for a first job. Consider your options and not just the money. You will love the students and most staff, but end up feeling stressed and not valued. 

This is a tough job with a tough population and it's easy to burn out doing it. It's physically and emotionally taxing and the pay is not going to make anyone a wealthy individual. It's easy to get frustrated in this line of work and think that it has to be better somewhere else but after moving on and seeing how its done in other places, even places where the zipcode was "better" or the pay was a little higher or where the population was less dangerous, I've come to see that the Guild actually did a pretty good job with a lot of stuff a lot of the time just by doing the best it could do with the circumstances they're in. There's upward mobility, training, and usually a bunch of coworkers who will have your back. I can't say that about  everywhere else. It's still tough. It's still going to test you. But if that type of service suits you, you won't find grass any greener anywhere else.

Overall, this is an environment of allowing staff to grow and learn. While it can be a stressful job at times the rewarding experiences certainly outweigh things. The opportunity is for the taking to advance and grow if the right person is motivated to develop their skills and demonstrate their abilities. As with any job, one has to put in the time and work to extend themselves. The change that is occurring within is amazing. Accountability for the jobs all are expected to perform is on the forefront. This mentality directly supports the ongoing goal of supporting and developing their staff. Nothing kills a great employee faster than watching a company tolerate a bad one. The culture and environment at The Guild creates an environment of responsibility to hold its mission and vision at the forefront  

Although this is/can be a very tough job - not for everyone, if you are called to work with vulnerable kids or adults, The Guild is all about trying to make lives better for these folks. 
There is a personal balance for work/life that I had reached to feel more settled in my career. Although the needs of kids with special challenges are primary for work and there is always extra that I am happy to do, taking care of myself and family has to be number one - and that is up to me. 
The best part of the job is that it aligns with my personal beliefs that helping others is what we are here to do - professionally and personally for me. There are always things to complain about but putting everything in perspective, I am happy with my job.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Making a positive difference in the lives of vulnerable individuals. Helping individuals define what they enjoy, can do, and are consistent with their interests. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Human services and education are settings where it is difficult to maintain a full and consistent workforce. Therefore, while everyone pitches in to support clients and each other, it can be stressful ensuring that everyone is getting what they need. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Kind, supportive, diverse, passionate, fun

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Assisting individuals making and maintaining lifelong connections in the community.

The students and many of the staff are wonderful.  This place lacks a lot of the systems needed to help you be successful at your job.  Very little support from upper management and significant staffing issues on a daily basis. As a whole, morale among staff is very low.  Many times you are thrown into classrooms to staff them which makes completing your work duties extremely difficult.  Very difficult to grow professionally and develop your skill set when you are not performing the job you were hired for.  There is a lack of supplies and space for clinicians.  I would be hesitant to recommend anyone to work here. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
Very bad management; management doesn’t care about staff; the upper management promotes themselves and their paychecks but doesn’t care much for their employees. Teachers get bitten and beaten and yet they do nothing. All they care is about themselves 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Management, no appreciation or pay increase 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
No culture 
Too much chaos
Management doesn’t care

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Loads of work with no support in place 
Unqualified teaching assistants are hired who do nothing other than being on their phone

As part of my job, I interact with many levels of management and the common denominator is, caring and committed people. That is the reason to join this field, but I am happy to say that peers and management care about each other as well as the mission.There is a concerted effort to create satisfaction among employees from leadership searching out increased benefits and pay, including compensation for education,  across the board pay raises for residential assistants back in June and now a salary increase for residential managers. Keep it up Guild!

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Residential assistant 60 salaries reported	$21.45 per hour
Residential manager 24 salaries reported	$25.37 per hour
Teaching assistant 7 salaries reported	$20.80 per hour
Special education teacher 2 salaries reported	$77,320 per year
Speech language pathologist 3 salaries reported	$74,000 per year

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