youth worker

program leader

philanthropy manager

shift manager

custodian

Covenant House International

I worked at Covenant House Vancouver (CHV) for a year as a youth worker. I really enjoyed working with the youth but eventually left as it was the most toxic work environment I've ever been employed in. Gossip was rife in the work environment, there was open disrespect between employees within the organization (team leaders vs. youth workers vs. case managers), and policies were inconsistently applied by staff which left homeless youth feeling unsupported. Youth were regularly unfairly discharged from the program for program violations that other youth were allowed to stay in program for. Recently, a few of these youth have died soon after being discharged from the program.

I'm shocked to see positive reviews posted here for CHV and suspect most are generated from the CHV recruitment/HR department. Frontline CHV employees are openly unhappy and there is a high staff attrition rate. Management fails to make any changes to improve work conditions. Consequently, CHV is in a state of constant hiring for youth worker roles.

It blows my mind that CHV is expanding their services to open new buildings when they are operating a flawed program and already struggle to retain staff to support their existing operations. There are some serious problems that Covenant House Vancouver needs to tackle before they can be successful in supporting homeless youth. For now, if you are interested in youth work or other social services roles you will be much better off pursuing employment with other local organizations such as Family Services of Greater Vancouver, Aunt Leah's, or PCRS.

On an avergae day at work I would be responsible for 8 - 10 youth who I work with consistently and who remain under my care while they are residing within the shelter program. They are to 'check-in' with me twice a day. At the check-ins we discuss how their day went. Challenges they may have faced. We discuss job interviews they may have attended, family issues they may be dealing with etc. I also assess their immediate needs and future goals and help them to attain these things which will lead to gaining independence and independent living. The hardest part of this job is when a youth is struggling very badly because we do work with youth with drug and alcohol dependancy and with mental health issues. It is difficult when someone you're working with is struggling but necessary boundaries need to be put in place. The most enjoyable part of the job is being able to work with people all day. The smaller victories and experiencing a youth starting to apply healthy habits to their life is very rewarding.

I arrive work at 8:15 am earlier most of the time unless I had to drop my baby brother to school due to my mom having to work at a very early time. As I'm there I say good morning to who's at the front desk and to who I see on my way to change into my uniform, then head downstairs and wait for other team members to arrive as I speak everyone and ask about their night, talk about mine until the chef comes in the office and gives us orders for the day. In the kitchen, I wash my hands, put on an apron, have two towels set in my apron, and wear a hairnet. Depending on what food is going to be made I get the tools I need, listen to the chef give out information on the kind of food we're gonna make and then the chef teaches us how to cook or bake the recipe we're given. What I learned at covenant house is to call in ahead of time if I'm going to be running late. I learned that being professionalism has nothing to do with discrimination, this job has taught me to reach my fullest potential to anything in life without an excuse, and I thank the managers for the lesson.

typical day at work would basically be the same thing every day.. clean, prep food, cook, serve the food, and clean again. what i had learned while working there was that you can learn a lot of new things in the kitchen, such as how to properly cut an onion or any other type of vegetable. my boss was very strict when it came to things we should of been doing the second we got into the kitchen. remind you it was a program. basically one step before actually working in a real kitchen. so kind of like a trial run for 4 months. but i was not able to complete the program. the hardest part of the job was to follow constant direction from our chef. he would be telling us what to do every 5 seconds.. metaphorically speaking. but that is what it seemed like. the most enjoyable part of the job was the hands on learning i got to experience from the chef. basically how to cook a lot of things that i didn't know how to make. which was a great experience.

The only bad thing about my actual job at Covenant House is that it was a one year contract that is coming to an end and there is no position available for me to stay. I learned a lot from all my co-workers and specially from my direct supervisors.
Every day was a little busy with all the volunteer applications and inquiries that we receive but we were able to handle them very well and try to respond all the people that may match our needs, but our positions are limited and we can not bring everyone to volunteer even if we wanted to.
The hardest part of this job was when my direct supervisor left sick and I had to deal with everything for a while; specially during Christmas time which is our busiest time of the year.
The most enjoyable part of working here is the work environment and that you are serving the community.

It was a great experience working at Covenant House ,working with with unjudgemental,loving and cooperative team. My morning work was to receive mail (donations which was cash and cheques), opened it and sorted it to different campaigns.I caltulated it and entered it in the computer.
I learned how to use Raiser Edge Software which was a good experince not too much different from Accpac.My cooworkers was always willing to help and they were unjudgemental.There was nothing hard.The most enjoyable part of the job was when I was using caltulator to add what we received in a day and seeing how fast i was when caltulating .

Working in development and communications at Covenant House Toronto is extremely challenging. Senior Management is highly demanding and critical and the managers are encouraged to be highly competitive and push their teams beyond reason. The work environment is very stressful and work life balance is not supported. The organization is very good at fundraising and you will learn a lot if you can survive the politics. The turnover is very high and good people don't stay long. The pay and benefits are good but there is no upward mobility and the organization doesn't care about poor leadership of this department.

Covenant House was one of the most rewarding positions i have ever held, the diverse community and the Youth made for an unforgettable experience.
I had reservations at first, as I wasn't familiar with this type of setting, but the staff and my coworkers were relaxed and accommodating in making me comfortable.
The best part was the one on one connections and the gratitude extended to me by the Youth.
A full spectrum of abilities, identities and cultures came together as we all learned together in the Rights Of Passage program.
The Youth all benefitted in different ways.

Would not recommend this place to anyone, no matter how desperate you are for a pay cheque.  They try to control your thought process and what you say to the kids you are working with.  Total control freaks, Try to tell you how you should live your life outside of work.  Where do they get the gall or chutpaz to tell people how they should live their life outside of work.  Beware, there is no room for other religious beliefs.  Would not recommend this place to anyone, other than your worst enemy.

What is the best part of working at the company?
One of the best place to work ive ever been it doesn't matter on what dept your in.. everyone is a role model 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Only during covid ...and that is all
.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Everyone is welcome esp all the youth we served..

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Keeping all things in good order good vive all around co -workers are very helpful im proud to be part of the covenanthouse mission...

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Youth worker 69 salaries reported	$28.72 per hour
Program leader 5 salaries reported	$35.47 per hour
Philanthropy manager 3 salaries reported	$85,736 per year
Shift manager 7 salaries reported	$67,482 per year
Custodian 9 salaries reported	$44,098 per year

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