domestic violence advocate

residential specialist

program director

social worker

childcare provider

Urban Resource Institute

A typical day for me as the Executive Secretary of URI's IRA/ICF's is a fast-paced, constant trouble-shooting and decision making day. We house and care for residents on a 24-hour basis who have developmental disabilities. I am constantly interacting with our Senior Directors at Central Office via email or telephone. I'm also a part of an IT technical team supervised by the IT manager for my sites. Though I am not directly interactive with our consumers as a caregiver, I maintain information for their residential, medical, recreational and therapeutic needs, to say the least. I am the main contact for their Day Programs, doctors, hospitals, therapists and families. I also manage the upkeep of all employee personal information and certification status. I'm the Director of Programs' Secretary and I carry out all administrative duties as a secretary and some managerial support at several sites in the course of a business day. The emergencies that may occur with a resident may require immediate attention, where I must make it my first priority and place important administrative tasks on hold for a later time. It can get hectic. But, the pleasure of being a part of a team of individuals that prides on caring for people who cannot care for themselves on a daily basis,keeping them safe and enriching their lives is rewarding. I learn something new about people and core values every day.

The current insurance policy doesn’t support women’s health or rights. The system is generated through HRA which is a mess in itself. Makes it difficult to transition clients out of shelter. And the main system reports all of our clients as the Latino population, although most of our population is African American. Also there aren’t many opportunities to advance even if you obtain further education. You will be making below 50K and any benefits offered do more harm to you financially rather than supporting you. Also there is a cultural issue within the organization and all races and genders are not treated the same. Central office or high management displays unprofessionalism upon hiring and will talk bad about their internal team passing this culture down to the sites. I would work here temporarily. 

This company has great motives to help those with developmental disabilities and domestic violence issues, the problem is the delivery of services is less than adequate. Opening up more and more facilities, the current facilities need construction, not only to the actual buildings themselves, but the staff and management as well. We do not receive overtime pay, but instead get what is called "flex time", where they pay us for the hours worked while taking the day off. Not having the needed staff to provide the different services for the residents in need, there is a high demand for the staff that is available. There is not much training provided, and essentially you go into the job just picking up what you learn from others and yourself. This would be a great company to work for if they just dealt with the issues at hand before expanding. But I do like the help they provide to those in need, but thats about it.

I work at a domestic violence shelter for women and children. My job consist of taking calls from the hotline that is set up for us to do a interview over the phone to see if the client is a good candidate for the shelter. if they are we bring them in and we do a intake on them and tell them about the rules and regulation of the shelter. we also supply them with food, clothing, and a studio apartment for them and their children to live in. I work with a great team of people have no complaint about my co-workers. My management team are very supportive of their employees. the hardest apart about my jobs is hearing the story of the abuse that these family had to go throw. the most enjoyable of my job is we they need to talk and I am there to listen and not judge them. I always be joyful when I have help them because that is my pride and enjoy is helping others.

Urban Resource Institute is a Domestic Violence Company that truly cares about its clients/residents. Where most companies only use the media to benefit themselves. They do it to get more exposure to help get more funding so that we are able to prove resources for the clients/residents.
   And now the company has expanded its brand by making sure that families that have to leave their homes don't have to leave their beloved pets behind. So we now have what is called the P.A.L'S Program. 
   The hardest part of this job is the connection you have with each and every client that you come into contact with. The stories about their lives that they share with you. It is hard not to take everything to heart but you're human. And yet you still have a job to do. I am truly proud and grateful to be able to be a part of making a difference in peoples lives. And being a part of this companies growth.

I learned how to be aware of my mental health and the importance of setting boundaries and writing emails as a form of backup. It was a lack of support and encouragement from the Director on down, and because of supervisors not receiving support, they couldn’t support the team all the way. The work culture and staff treated the work place like “family “ environment, so if you’re apart of the in crowd it feels nice but when you’re on the out it’s total exclusion, which makes for a toxic work environment. The best part was being to help the clients.

If you are looking to work at a place where you will learn and grow, this is NOT the place. The Urban Resource Institute has mediocre, at best, management. Management gives employees little to no direction. When an employee has an initiative, management either shuts it down or takes credit for it. They don't value anyone's effort and always have a hidden agenda. The worst part of this "mission-driven" organization is that they do not care about the clients they serve. Constantly mistreating the clients and depriving them of their dignity. There is no accountability for wrongful behavior and there is a lot of favoritism.

A typical day at Urban Institute includes one-on-one individual session with clients.  People come to see the vocational evaluator to get assistance with starting over or expanding their experience in current field of interest.  Management and co-workers all worked together for the continued progress of the clients.  Hardest part of the job is seeing clients not reach their full potential due to substance abuse.  The most enjoyable parts was being a part in helping clients reach their educational, occupational, familial and community goals.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Helping the individuals..

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Dealing with Hr ,directors ,they care zero about staff quick to let you go bcuz they can use Temps. You never get to explain yourself they do it all for you..

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Bad, dirty they would take forever to fix any little thing .. especially one time we had the black mold... culture wise they need more training to respect each other..

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Work, work ,work half the time we're short so you have to multitask.. but Hr doesn't care they don't even pick up the phone ..

as residential specialist, we are getting paid too little for all the work we do....we conduct intake, orientation, food pantrys for residents, organize charts, counsel residents, help with laundry, help resident get settled in their units, provide supplies such as detergent pampers etc, some maintenance, child care  worst part), security, all for minimum wage ...and on top of that...your fellow coworkers are not considerate of your time always calling out and even not showing up...yet management still keeps these irresponsible people...its not fair for those of us who work hard

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Domestic violence advocate 1 salary reported	$18.85 per hour
Residential specialist 3 salaries reported	$18.85 per hour
Program director 5 salaries reported	$89,900 per year
Social worker 2 salaries reported	$59,738 per year
Childcare provider 3 salaries reported	$18.06 per hour

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