Pros
I have increased my skill set and gained great experience with working with at-risk adults. My schedule is flexible and I get to be a direct part of the treatment of mental and substance use disorders. I love my clients and get to make a difference. I get to support and empower others by advocating for them, helping them access resources, and be there for them in ways that other agencies and organizations cannot.
Cons
Unfortunately, the cons heavily outweigh the pros in this organization. That is very sad because my pros are pretty amazing. Rarely do I feel like my above pros are actually reality in my job and in myself because cons of the organization overpower the reasons the job could be so great. Centerstone's system of "productivity" sets up one for failure. Due to poor management, lack of general care and support for their employees, and a complete disregard when employees voice their concerns, Centerstone is not a positive place to work. Add that to the already existing pressure, heaviness, and workload of the job, and you're looking at a complete mess. I am underpaid and overworked. That is to be expected in this field, but my main disappointment is how little I am valued by my organization. For reasons that I cannot control (getting sick, clients not showing up for appointments, etc) I have never, not once, met the hours of care standard. I passively aggressively get condemned for this, and I go to work with anxiety every day. And no real, ethical solutions are offered to me to fix the "problem." And I have a lot of responsibilities that directly affect people's lives that I'm juggling, but that's not considered by management. I bend over backwards constantly to make sure my clients get the support they need, I encourage them, coordinate with other providers, and I pour out my heart and soul because I am passionate about people. That has never been valued, recognized, or reinforced. All my superiors care about is how much "revenue" I produce. I see coworkers (and myself) often sacrificing quality in their work with clients so that they can be in good standing with their bosses. In turn, clients end up not getting the boundaries they need to be independent because the employees are so worried about not making their hours of care. And I know I'm not alone. Every coworker I have talked with has expressed this. All of this leads to one conclusion in my mind: an organization that does not care about their employees does not care about their clients. At that point, what's the reason for the organization even existing if they are totally forgetting about the reason they do what they do in the first place?
