case manager

monitor

direct support professional

housing specialist

cook

Volunteers of America

What is the best part of working at the company?
The best part of working at the company was the opportunity to work closely with the clients and support them as they prepared to be released back into society. Being able to guide, encourage, and equip them with the tools they needed for a successful transition was incredibly meaningful. It was rewarding to see their growth and progress, and I truly felt that the work I was doing made a positive and lasting difference in their lives.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part of working at the company was the leadership environment within the facilities division. The management approach, particularly from the VP, Mr. Sales created a workplace culture that often felt intimidating and, at times, discriminatory. There were concerning instances and patterns of behavior that felt racially biased, which contributed to a lack of trust and psychological safety among staff. Additionally, employees were frequently spoken to in a demeaning manner, and terminations sometimes occurred without clear documentation or progressive discipline. The combination of these factors created a toxic and high-stress environment that made it difficult to perform effectively.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment within the company, was often high-stress and challenging. While the mission of serving and preparing clients for successful reentry was meaningful and impactful, the internal leadership culture at times created tension among staff. Communication from upper management could feel intimidating or dismissive, and there were instances where decision-making lacked transparency and consistency. These factors contributed to a workplace atmosphere that felt unstable and, at times, unsupportive. Despite this, many team members remained committed to the clients and to maintaining professionalism.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Due to the nature of the company operating as a federal halfway house, no two days were exactly alike. Each day presented different situations, responsibilities, and client needs. The work required flexibility, quick decision-making, and the ability to adapt to changing circumstances. While the unpredictability could be challenging, it also kept the role dynamic and engaging.

•	Prepared Monthly Reports
•	Executed daily operations of Supervision of Staff 8-10 employees, 
    Scheduled work schedule, resolved conflicts and coordinated with
     Program Manager.
•	Wrote, designed and produced goals for disabled/mental health clients.
•	Participated in meeting with state employees for the welfare of clients.
•	Participated in Recruiting, interviewing and hiring staff.
•	Trained and managed new employees.
•	Spoke to community groups to explain and interpret agency purposes, programs, and policies.
•	Trained clients on life skills such as budgeting, and daily activity skills.
•	Researched and analyzed member and community needs in order to determine program directions and goals.
•	Computer skills, efficient email responses, writing of donation letters, and communication in meetings.
•	Acted as consultants to agency staff and other community programs regarding the interpretation of program-related federal, state, and county regulations and policies.
•	Analyzed proposed legislation, regulations, and rule changes in
order to determine how agency services could be impacted.
•	Directed activities of professional and technical staff members.
•	Served as Coordinator between two program facilities and reported to Program Manager
•	Evaluated the work of staff in order to ensure that programs are of appropriate quality and that resources are used effectively. 
•	HUD Manager for property, overseer of property to report any repairs and safety issues. Contacted Repair Persons
•	Followed HUD regulations for safety and cleanliness with monthly inspections and reports..
•	Solved Problems within the Corporation with staff and clients in a transitional home environment
•	Transportation of clients to appointments, shopping, lawyers, etc.
•	Lived on site for 5 years.
•	Able to motivate staff and clients
•	Able to handle emergency situations with property issues, behavior managements of clients.
•	Collected monthly rent for apartment living facility.
•	Master Key holder for 7 years.
•	Supervised Self Administration of Medication
•	Audited charts for 21 residents per state, CARF, HIPPA and company regulations.
•	Documented notes in Carelogic system for 21 residents.
•	Crisis Prevention Intervention Training
•	Educated residents on medications side effects and dosage.
•	Assisted mental health clients with their children per DFCS protocol. 
•	Worked with local law enforcement when pertaining to residents/clients.

I will provide an analysis of a typical day at work. The place where I worked at offered their own parking lot for employees as well as their own kitchen area. The company is in a building surrounded by other companies. It is very big and is a really good atmosphere. Provides a variety of work rooms, kitchen area and a parking lot. A typical work day includes arriving to the workplace at 10 am; having your own way of transportation. Once you arrive, you go to the kitchen area and wait for your supervisor to arrive. Once your supervisor arrives, you will spend the morning half of work learning the basics of the company, what it offers and how you can help it prosper and thrive. For 3 hours you do a couple activities with other volunteers then you go on your lunch break. Lunch is an hour from 12-1 and you are allowed to go wherever you want. From 9 to noon you will work with your supervisors and other volunteers. Once 3'o clock hits you can leave. Your supervisor is the one who helps you learn different tasks and what you will do. The more experienced volunteers manage what you will do, if you do it efficiently and hold you accountable for everything you do. Everyone in this organization have a different background yet they all connect with similar interests and passions for the company. For this company, I had to follow orders from my supervisor as well as more experienced volunteers. I would say that the hardest part of the job was doing the same routine over and over whether it was working with other volunteers, as well as tasks with other volunteers.  These tasks were the least bit interesting. The most enjoyable part of the job was you got to learn something new everyday, work with others, help others, lunch break as well as work individually. Really tested your strengths and weaknesses. Overall, this company that I worked for showed me what it would be like to work at that company. The work conditions, hours and other services it offered provided insight on the company and what it would be like to work as an employee. Working at this company showed me what it would be like to work in the workplace at this company on a daily basis.

A typical day at VOA often involves being the person others rely on for help or support. I have consistently stepped up to take on additional responsibilities, including working significant overtime when needed because I understood the company’s assignments and priorities. At one point, I worked 17 consecutive days. However, when my paycheck was issued, none of the overtime hours were paid due to how the pay periods were structured, as it was explained to me.
I frequently work alongside individuals designated as leads who do not fully carry out those responsibilities, which has required me to step into leadership roles without the title or compensation. When challenging tasks arise, I am often the person management or staff turn to. Despite being with the company for two years and consistently demonstrating reliability and capability, I have not received a promotion. I have been told I was written up, yet I never received formal documentation of any write-up.
I have taken on case management and office assistant duties, and I have seen others receive promotions for work I contributed to or performed. This has left me questioning why I continue to work so hard without corresponding recognition or pay. While I understand that workloads evolve, new responsibilities are frequently added to our roles without any adjustment in compensation.
I have also experienced safety concerns, including being bitten by dogs twice while on duty. When I reported these incidents to management, I did not receive the support I needed. In one instance, assistance was declined publicly during a staff meeting, which was discouraging.
Workload distribution has also been uneven. The morning shift has carried the majority of responsibilities since the program opened. Overall, there have been numerous ongoing issues that raise concerns about organizational structure and leadership effectiveness.

When I started work at this place in 2015, was going through a transition. The building's lease that I worked at for Group Care was expiring. The city was taking it back. Most of the senior-level staff were quite seasoned but jaded. You could see that by their looks and shortness when talking to people. 

When I came in, the work environment was very catty. There was a mean girl's clique that was running. When they lost the supervisor who allowed them to run the game and act like the queens of the work site, they ended up leaving angrily stunned. Their "My way or the highway" rule wouldn't work under new management.

We needed to be more staff. It seemed like a never-ending affair. Working 50-60 hours a week was a regular occurrence. There was an on-call shift that everyone did once a week. There was a period when I was getting called in every single time. It was my day for an on-call shift. I had no weekends off from the first weekend in June until the last weekend in August. The worst part about their PTO system was that I had gotten capped out on vacation hours and could not acquire more of them. I also, sadly, could not use any vacation hours. When I left, I could not cash them out either. So I lost almost 100 hours of vacation time. 

Management gave us two raises that year. It was a dollar each time. Getting a two-dollar raise in one year is decent. But the thing was, when they dissolved the program. To stay on with the company, you would have to give up that money and go back to the rate you started at. Sadly, we could not enjoy any of our money or time off due to the schedule. 

The program director was the embodiment of this statement, "The only time things change is when it becomes their problem." Upon hearing that one of the employees got a career-level job, she did everything she could to sabotage him. She did have your back once in a while when things were difficult for her to find fault. 

The place mentally was exhausting overall. I recommend it unless you need a job and can stand to deal with some antics. You must set a red line and not let them cross it. 

Negatives:

Work/Life Balance is nonexistent and the managers that are there either move on or tolerate it.

Higher leadership will try to add even more responsibilities if you allow them to and that responsibility will not include any more financial compensation.

The on-call manager process is archaic and you may find yourself working night shifts on the weekend when someone calls off sick with not enough staff working already.

Pay is poor once they truly tell you all the responsibilities.

Low pay among the staff you supervise (about 20$ per hour) means that you are dealing with many related problems for low-compensation jobs.

Senior Project Manager has no real power. You cannot hire on your own and the candidates you interview will meet the expectations of those that would apply for low-paying jobs. 

Directors and higher leadership are disconnected from the employee shortage and expect salaried managers to work open shifts.
Responsibilities are unrealistic for the compensation.

Senior Manager does not even have an office and the two day per week remote days are difficult to obtain since they don't want you taking them on Mondays or Fridays.

Leadership and those that are hired lack education with some that do not have a basic undergrad degree.

Scheduling is a mess because they have no staff and will quickly try and blame you for scheduling defiencies even though you have only been in the position for a month and it is a problem they created in the first place.

So many meetings you will not get anything done, also required to balance government grants, submit reciepts, enter in excell, interact with multiple agencies, plan parties, order supplies all the while dealing with program participant complaints, issues, facility issues, staff issues and trying to hire for all the open shifts the leadership left you to deal with.


During my interview I felt this was a good fit for me just based on the interviewers, they were energetic, funny, kind and even asked "What my spirit animal was". They do check references and education, so have those available upon request.
 I work in the administration office, and I really appreciate that the CEO, VP and CFO are in the same building with me, and they treat me as an equal. No stuffy management over here, the CEO is always so sweet and personable with me, I've never worked somewhere that I could rub elbows and talk over coffee with the business head.
My direct manager is great with schedule flexibility, and understands the need for a work and life balance. They also offer you to work remotely depending on the type of position you have. I have a lot of work to do here, but I never feel stressed, pushed, or unappreciated, and management does periodic check ins with you to see how things in your work and personal life are going which is very appreciated.
I can not speak to other departments that do direct outreach personally, but from what I have heard from fellow coworkers in those areas, the workplace is the same level of easy going yet driven, to make sure you and the clients you serve succeed.
As of 2020, VOA has been implementing Cultural Diversity and Inclusion training and committees, to help learn and address changes needed within VOA and the world as a whole. I appreciate that based on the current world events, VOA is also trying to learn and grow as a company to become more inclusive and respectful of people from all walks of life, race, creed, orientation, etc. so employees and clients feel heard and respected.
If you work over 30 hours you also qualify for benefits, which I think is great as most companies want you to work at least 32-40. They offer PTO, Holiday Pay, Insurance and 401k.


Working at VOA was sometimes rewarding but there are SO many issues within the job which is why I no longer work there. 

Pros:
•Flexible, easy to get time off 
•You won’t be micromanaged 
•If you’re lucky good coworkers (usually) 
•Lots to do during the day so it usually goes by fast, and is never boring 
•Making meaningful change/connection in people’s lives (rare at this level but does happen) 

Cons:
•Management has no involvement of what actually goes on day to day, yet they make all the calls 
•Management are very cliquey and there is no professionalism 
•Clients are very hard to work with, you must have thick skin. 
•You have to advocate for yourself HARD. Examples: From day 1 of training, you have to make sure they’re getting your timesheet in, or they won’t and you won’t get paid for weeks. There are incentive shifts for gift cards and if you pick the shifts up you have to make sure they actually give the GC to you, because they won’t. A lot of things that should be automatic, you have to ask for multiple times. And then management often doesn’t answer when you are advocating for yourself. 
•Because of lack of management presence, your coworkers will be late daily and no ones there to notice, so you will have to pick up their slack. (with no recognition I might add) 

A typical day at work:
There will be about 3-7 people working. There are multiple different duties throughout the day that you will sign up for in the morning meeting. If you are not doing those duties you will be working the front desk. This includes answering clients questions, getting them clothes/supplies/paperwork, de escalating fights, directing clients to different departments, etc.

You will be treated very poorly by a lot of people in this position, you must be thick skinned and extremely trauma-informed. 

Working here was not something I regret. It gave me a lot of insight, I learned a lot, and it definitely made me grow. I also met a lot of amazing people. 



I had a wonderful experience working for VOA!  I loved the culture as I never felt shy saying hi to any of the staff no matter what their role.  Management is just as approachable as the coworker in the office next to you.  There were several "changes of the guard" while I was there.  We had two or three CEO's, a CFO for awhile, a few people on the Executive team's jobs were consolidated into other positions and some additional people took their places.  Overall, management truly tries to make the transitions as smooth as possible for the staff.  I might have worked in one part of the agency but, I had the opportunity to meet other coworkers during parties and Town Hall meetings.

It is true there isn't a lot of job security in some programs as they are grant funded or contracts.  However the company does it's best to keep employees who are give their all in their work.  I have seen employees have three or four jobs in the two to three years they have been with the company.  If you don't mind a change a pace every now and then it continues to benefit you in the end.

The one thing I will say is the pay could be better.  Unfortunately, due to being a non-profit they have to fit within grant guidelines and don't always have extra money for employees.  Unless you seek a management position or a clinical position there isn't a way to move up in the company and provide direct service.  They do hire from within before looking at outside candidates and all of the managers are incredibly supportive and truly want what is best for you.

Remember you are working with populations most organizations choose not to work with.  Remember you are serving those who are seen as the "least desirable" and realize you are making a HUGE difference.  VOA truly seeks to transform the lives of their clients and staff!

I worked as a senior leader with the Non Profit Organization for an extended period of time. As management, I can validate that their employees are not their first, second or third priority.

They offer low wages for the Direct Support Professionals for all the duties and responsibilities they mandate. Senior leadership makes no effort to show Employee Appreciation in addition to confining to confidentiality. In addition to hourly workers being underpaid, they are overworked. Direct Support Professionals work a minimum of almost 50 plus hours a week due to the organization always being understaff. Senior level management makes no effort to assist with finding relief for staff that is abandoned on a shift after call ins, leaving a lot of hourly staff stuck on shifts, inconsiderate of their planned time after their scheduled shift hours. The clients living conditions are fair, due to the lack of funding and benefit income. Staff and management that voices their concerns for change, are always pushed out/terminated. 

Please keep be aware that Volunteers of America DO NOT PAY INTO UNEMPLOYMENT! This is extremely important for job seekers to know, especially after the World Wide Pandemic that everyone was impacted by! Although, Volunteers of America did not layoff any hourly workers, due to short staffing, they didn't offer any Pandemic pay or incentives to their hourly staff that risk the healthy and well being of their own families during this crisis. I say to anyone seeking job opportunities to be aware, you will not experience any career growth or opportunities or decent raises, in simpler terms this is a dead end job! 

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Case manager 457 salaries reported	$24.16 per hour
Monitor 413 salaries reported	$19.58 per hour
Direct support professional 65 salaries reported	$18.17 per hour
Housing specialist 99 salaries reported	$24.67 per hour
Cook 71 salaries reported	$20.37 per hour

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