Pros
This work is crucial and very hard and DESC steps up to do the work that needs to be done. They truly are a housing first model and go to great lengths to help clients. They offer very generous PTO, or at least they used to.
Cons
It's dangerous work. Let me be clear, people experiencing a mental health conditions are not any more dangerous/violent than the general population (statistically), but having so many people that are in crisis/experiencing psychosis/using drugs and alcohol means that there are some scary events. You are expected to put up with a lot of verbal abuse (and in some cases physical abuse). The people with the most difficult jobs on the front lines (Residential Counselors) tend to have the least training/education. It's just really, really hard work.