travailleur social

disability support worker

staffing manager

travailleur des services de développement

responsable des ressources humaines

EPIC OPPORTUNITIES

A typical day involves arriving at the clients home and assisting them to do what they want and/or need to do.

I had never really had exposure to people with intellectual disabilities before and I really learned how much they are capable of and also how much they have to teach me.

Management, during my term, changed a lot. The management team was overworked and therefor unorganized. Often support staff were doing tasks that were in the management job description.

My co-workers were some of the most compassionate, understanding people I have met. There were also a few people who didn't have the patience that I think is needed to work in this field. People without patience, I felt, were likely to miss many of the capabilities of their clients.

The hardest part of my job at the time, was working with a fellow who had dementia that had progressed to a point where his medical needs were greater than the support staff were qualified to deal with.  I alerted management that his level of care was inappropriate for the training we had after taking him to the emergency room one day. The company was committed to supporting him regardless, although I never saw him again at his residence as the hospital took him full time shortly after. He is now deceased.

The most enjoyable part of my job was hanging out with my other main client. We had many similar interests and he was super down to earth. It was fun cooking, cleaning and shopping with him as he had a creative approach to daily tasks. He was super caring and supportive of his room mate (with dementia) in my opinion. He really changed my opinion of people with intellectual disabilities.

Overall a fantastic personal growth experience.

I worked at the 1745 Day Service Program for a few months and will divide my experience and thoughts into pros and cons!

PROS: 
- Got to work and support a lot of amazing individuals in the program. Individuals supported are highly valued by staff and Epic as a whole; self-determination of individuals is a key-value and the program is individualized to meet every individuals needs. 
- Met and worked alongside some of the most genuine and kind co-workers I have ever met! 
- Training is great and very thorough; have the opportunity to shadow co-workers for a lengthily period of time. 
- Management is accommodating for needed time off and is very accessible to address questions and concerns during the work day.
- Participate in fun activities in the community with individuals supported. 

CONS: 
- Pay is very low and would need to work another job to live decently. 
- No boundaries with individuals supported are established; individuals are allowed to do whatever they please and are never told "no"- which can make the job highly difficult.
- Program lacks funding; individuals supported have to use their own money for activities which posed as a problem for some individuals who barely had money to spend! 
- Management was disorganized- things were often switched around throughout the day and plans were always changing; likely could be because management appeared to be overworked. 
- Often felt like DSW's were not cared about by management; individuals supported were always in the right (likely to keep them happy so Epic could keep securing funding from them). 
- A lot of gossip among DSW's occurred and sometimes felt like high school.  

Side-note: This job requires you to deal with individuals supported bodily fluids on a regular basis.

You need a huge amount of patience to work in the day service. You spend 2 hours in the morning supporting one group of people, come back for lunch, and another 2 hours in the afternoon with another group. The environment is loud, frustrating and chaotic. You end up doing the same things every single day, and there is A LOT of driving around. There is never money to do anything that might actually be enjoyable or productive. It's impossible to actually reach goals with anyone though because you don't consistently work with your key individual. Co workers act like a bunch of 5th graders and the management is cold and unfriendly. They care more about the people supported than their staff. They are very spiteful when you upset them and will make you stay in all day or work with all of the difficult people. It's very hard to call in sick and when you do management gets upset. You get in trouble for being friends with your co workers. On top of it all, the pay is awful for the amount you deal with. You're pretty much an adult baby sitter. Worst job and worst management I've ever had!!! This day program is a joke.

I have been with EPIC Opportunities for almost 10 years.  When I had first started, the organization was a lot smaller and I was quite impressed with their philosophy.  

Unfortunately as the organization became larger, little investment has been put into their employees and individuals that they support. Upper management is disorganized which has had a HUGE impact on the individuals that EPIC supports and the high turnover of employees.  This is not to say that all residential and day programs are like this, but this is what I have seen working in various residential settings.

EPIC Opportunities is a wonderful organization, but has unfortunately moved away from their philosophy and investing time in energy on other goals rather than the individuals and DSWs.

i would arrive at ten pm, clean the house , check on the gentlemen, wake them up to release them selves during the night. make sure lunches for their workday is ready, give medication, balance their daily fund books.
Management was excellent, helped me grow as a person and as a worker.
Co workers were amazing, we always helped each other with shift changes , completing tasks.
The hardest part of my job was dealing with the clients mood swings they sometimes like to get very hostile and angry.
The most enjoyable part of the job was going to special events with the clients see how they interact with other people that were either similar to them or completely different from them.

Not a great place to work. Very low pay (with no pay increases after 4-5 years), managers and coordinators do not help with anything. No real opportunity for advancements. No real guidance from management. Managers just let some workers do whatever they want, yet others have to follow rules; Favoritism is REAL in day programs. Inclusive language should be used by all staff, and it is not. 

Lots of opportunities for individuals with various healthcare needs. The management can be disorganized sometimes but most of managers I encountered were very supportive, regardless of how stressful their jobs are. I also appreciate being able to share some of manager's duties which help me develop skills necessary for job upgrade. Pay is low but can't complain given the industry average, but work is rewarding and self-fulfilling

A typical day at work is being available for various management duties, such as emails, phone calls and texts, as well as checking in with employees and individuals supported by the company.
Payroll, interviewing, scheduling, training, orientation, performance reviews.etc etc The list goes on....
Learned how to become a more effective leader.
The hardest part of the job is work..home life balance
The most enjoyable part of the job is making a difference in others lives, and giving everyone the confidence to do the best job they can on a daily basis.

the day is spent supporting individuals with intellectual disabilities assisting individuals in developing relationships; job coach; literacy assistant; assisting individuals to develop skills; providing individuals with information to make their own decisions; medication administration; attending professional appointments; provide transportation; helping individuals explore areas of interest that expand community involvement; assisting individuals in building resumes; assisting individuals in job searching

Working at Epic Opportunities has been an enjoyable experience.  I have found it useful to come back to work after being away from the workplace for quite some time.  I appreciated the flexibility and opportunity to explore my strengths and weaknesses and develop my skills.  I especially enjoyed working with individuals and hearing their stories and being apart of their lives and doing my best to assist them to have a happy life.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Travailleur social 1 salary reported	$26.61 per hour
Disability support worker 8 salaries reported	$21.00 per hour
Staffing manager 2 salaries reported	$18.96 per hour
Travailleur des services de développement 4 salaries reported	$17.98 per hour
Responsable des ressources humaines 1 salary reported	$17.96 per hour

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