developmental service worker

travailleur des services de développement

support worker

supported living support worker

scheduling coordinator

Main-Street-Community-Services

I worked at Main Street Community Services for several years. I developed amazing bonds with many of the clients, which is what I liked most about the job. Otherwise, staff turnover is extremely high and some of the staff are questionable. The pay is terrible for the work you do and the hours you're expected to work. I had the opportunity to work with some great and inspiring staff as well as some concerningly incompetent people (no offense, but it was true and severely impacted client care). You are sort of brainwashed into working with clients in a way that is abusive, which is more common than you'd think given that many people are being hired with limited experience. These directions are often coming directly from supervisors and/or management and encouraged by other senior staff. There are often arbitrary rules that you need to enforce that don't make much sense and are harmful to the clients' wellbeing. This place caused me a lot of trauma. Some of it was from physical assaults from clients and/or client crises (for anyone thinking about working here, this is a given due to the nature of the supported clientele), and management who was severely toxic and unsupportive.  I'm glad to see they've added cultural competence into their mission statement (this had been missing from their website up until recently), however, I can say from personal experience that this was not a reflected value during my time there.

Not only will you receive snide, confrontational emails sent to you constantly from your management team, but you will also get berated in front of your fellow staff and the clients by management if they are having a bad day. MSCS hires extremely unqualified individuals, which puts all their staff and residents at risk, and management will never step foot out of their offices to help support on the floor, no matter how short staffed you are. You will be forced to work ridiculous hours outside of your availability and you will be forced to work through injuries or alone with 5-6 behavioural clients. The only true way to get fired from MSCS is to be caught doing elicit substances on shift. Staff have been reported for many significant reasons and STILL were not terminated solely due to MSCS's lack of ability to retain staff. If you can, avoid this job at all costs. The ministry or parents need to step in and find other means of support for these poor residents who are undoubtedly suffering due to poor management and poorly trained and burnt-out staff.

Where do I begin? This company is one of the most stressful places to work. I am just going to list a few things.

When you call in sick your expected to find your own coverage. It doesn’t matter at all if you have a funeral to attend , if there is an emergency if you have a serious Illness . They expect you to come in and if they can’t help you at times you’re expected to just show up. 
Management is also suffering from severe mental health issues. One day you are getting praise and then out of no where management sends out an negative and aggressive email towards you. 

The staff that are being hired also are very mentally I’ll. This makes it he job more stressful because you are suppose to work as a team but you end up working solo talking care of staff and the individuals of the home.

Honestly, this job is one of the hardest jobs someone can work and it drains you mentally. There is no overtime. No sick days and no joy at this place of work. I ended up staying because the clients are wonderful but that started not being enough because I was burnt out and mentally exhausted. 

Unfortunately the clients suffer due to the management of this organization. They make it impossible to enjoy your work and feel as if you are not valued as an employee. The unrealistic expectation of working overtime without the overtime pay is unacceptable enough, add on top of that you are working with higher behaviours than you would see at any other agency. The clients do keep some staff there and deserve the best, unfortunately due to the lack of respect staff are given there is enormous turnover. Most staff leave burnt out to a high degree with damage to mental health. The job “requires” college education but most of the staff working there are not qualified. Hard working staff are taken advantage of and made to pick up the fall of coworkers that are not qualified. I recommend anyone looking for a job in the field to look elsewhere, there are respected agencies out there that will pay fairly and are unionized to avoid the unprofessionalism that Main Street Community Services shows their staff on a daily basis.  

I loved the individuals we supported but the leadership in this organization is absolutely terrible.  There was no compassion or debriefing after experiencing a difficult situation only leadership laughing and trying to "one up" what you went through. NVCI Training was a joke. Managers hire family to almost make it feel like they are spying on you. Managers talk about other managers and staff right to your face then will smile and kiss their butt. So you know they are talking about you. This organization needs intense diversity and inclusion training especially for Managers to understand and respect different cultures and beliefs. I would not recommend anyone work here until management realizes their faults, gets the training they desperately need, respect and appreciate staff and figure out why they have one of the hugest staff turnovers I have ever witnessed in an organization EVER! 

Absolutely love the clients and would recommend this workplace if you are in it for them! The ability to build a strong rapport and develop a special place in your heart for each client is 100% worth it. With that being said, the toxicity of this workplace and lack of appreciation from management is horrible. Management is very condescending and there is always constant chatter among them despite confidentiality. You will constantly be talked about and your opinions will not be taken into consideration regardless of it they are in the best interest of the clients and staff. The job does allow for flexibility in terms of how many hours you want... but it is highly likely that you will be scheduled outside of your provided availability which becomes a hassle to get fixed. Your work ethic will very rarely be acknowledged or appreciated by management, but the quality of care you provide for the clients will make a different in their life.

Residential care provider to 13 different programs including youth residential care for vulnerable, high-risk, and individuals with personal care needs. Fun, amazing, brilliant clients who enjoy and are grateful for the care they receive. An opportunity to build strong relationships with clients and lifelong friendships with colleagues. 

MSCS  Executive Directors have a strong vision and action plan for improving ongoing issues and ensuring everyone at MSCS is being well taken care of. They are always open to fresh and new ideas and provide many opportunities to demonstrate leadership. AMAZING employee benefit plan, mental health support, training and development, etc. 

**Not for the faint of heart, it takes courage to do this job well



MSCS can have its positive moments, unfortunately those moments are overshadowed by the negative management team. 
- made to work more than typical full time hours (60 hours or more a week on average - however no overtime pay because I under ESA for a residential care worker there is no max hours per week rule)
- if you are sick and try to call in your shift, they will try and make you cover it on your own, and still tell you that you better show up on time 
- poor training - they except every new staff to immediately know everything as if they’ve been around for years 
- House supervisors are mostly all great and very supportive 
- If you make a mistake on the job (big or small), one of two things will happen. 1. Nothing 2. You will be yelled at, very intensely, until you are on the verge of tears
- Very clique-y. You are either loved or hated. Not often an in-between.

This place is the definition of a toxic workplace. Being in a toxic work environment is almost like being in an abusive relationship. It’s not going to get any better. There is a cycle. They validate you and then they bring you down, and it happens multiple times. Every time that you think it’s getting better - it’s not. This agency does not appreciate or value their front line employees. The ones that are literally bending over backwards for the agency. Nothing we do is ever good enough for the management team, they they are not shy to tell you exactly how they feel. 
If you work here, say goodbye to you life. You will be over worked (it’s common to work a lot more than 40 hours a week without overtime pay), treated poorly and often left unsupported. 

Applier beware! 

Do not work here! Great clients. They do not respect your availability and try to overwork you. 

There were employees not following COVID procedures. Staff would not wear masks and would tell new staff that they don’t need to wear one. 

Staff in the office do not reply to you when contacting them with an issue. And don’t expect to be liked by staff because the management picks and chooses. And don’t expect a reference even though it’s a legal right. 

Very unfair treatment and overall toxic staff environment. The clients deserve to live in a different environment then this. I believe to do better, they should switch out the management team.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Developmental service worker 2 salaries reported	$24.69 per hour
Travailleur des services de développement 1 salary reported	$23.00 per hour
Support worker 2 salaries reported	$71,250 per year
Supported living support worker 1 salary reported	$25.00 per hour
Scheduling coordinator 1 salary reported	$22.50 per hour

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