DESC reviews

Upper management doesn't seem to realize the hard work we put in day to day, resulting in pay so low that between my student loans, cell phone bill and car insurance, I can't afford to live on my own. Us "lowly shelter/residential counselors" end up sick all the time, we take home bed bugs and lice, end up with MRSA and cellulitis, pneumonia and bronchitis. We are exposed to massive amounts of bodily fluids, unknown chemical substances and drugs, and we have to deal with broken glass pipes, needles and weapons found on clients. We put up with intense, hurtful verbal abuse from clients daily, and many staff members have been physically assaulted on more than one occasion. We are first responders and are frequently put in situations where our actions dictate whether a client lives or dies. It's stressful, and it can cause a lot of negative feelings in your life if you're not careful.

Expanding and not being able to retain staff due to low wages and stressful work. Sometimes feels like just maintaining clients' status quo with no quality and effective clinical intervention - not enough actual therapy for my clients, just case management. Leadership and management is really mixed quality. some supervisors are great, others are ineffective. Some cliques and factions amongst staff, lots of staff that have been there for a long time and think they know everything (they don't).