support worker

youth worker

program manager

Bonaventure Support Services

Bonaventure scapegoats her employees amongst her peers for perceived incompetence, yet head office is hilariously unavailable when staff members request support. 
 There is never enough staff to run a program without someone working repeat overtime. 
Their on staff consultant is a ghost, and there are always more questions than answers. 
When something goes awry, as it inevitably will, Bonaventure fires whoever is most vulnerable in order to save face. Then they replace them with yet another person dumb enough to let it happen to them. As one can imagine the turnover rate in management is extremely high and as a result notoriously disorganized. This causes stress for the decent staff and managers of whom constantly pick up the pieces and forever play catch up. 
In my experience Bonaventure has consistently refused to properly staff their programs and works their employees to the bone resulting in dangerous situations for both clients and staff alike. Each client has adequate funding through CLBC and or mcfd enough to fully staff programs, yet they are consistently understaffed. Why? 
I'm also of the opinion that although many of her staff are competent and skilled in their areas of focus, there have been some genuinely odd hires. I myself have been in close quarters with more than one obviously unstable employee seemly suffering from an active mental illness or possible addiction. These people would consistently display over the top inappropriate behaviours towards coworkers and clients alike yet would remain on due to staff shortages. This is a grave concern as coworkers need focus to be upon the clients needs, not worrying about other coworkers in a crisis. Why they are hired in the first place is a concern in itself.
Many more employees do not seem to have even basic understanding of their chosen field, and cause a lot of concern due to their inability to view their clients as equals. However given the vibe of the company it's almost to be expected. When folks aren't treated with dignity or respect it ripples from the center outward. 
For instance:
In one very staff wide meeting where upper management was present, one long standing and highly respected staff member referred to clients in some very derogatory ways. It was highly shocking and angering. However no one dared speak up against this commenter for fear of being fired. Whats worse, upper management seemed to be in on the 'jokes'....It was abhorrent. I'm still in an absolute rage as I recall these instances. I'm angry for the clients who are vulnerable,I am angry for the staff who are used and disrespected and work in fear, and I am angry for the community who look to Bonaventures CEOs as leaders. I think what Bonaventures CEOs do for the public is only as good as their private behaviour towards individuals and I for one am not impressed. 

I do wish to nod my head at all the wonderful staff members and small handful of management who still work under these conditions and go to bat for their clients every day. You know who you are and you are the real MVPs. Dont let head office steal your thunder because it's all you.

The organization skills within this company is seriously lacking. There's constant miscommunication between managers, higher up, and regular staff. The pay is not worth the burnout they want you to endure. They overwork staff-there's no OT pay unless you work over the allotted 80 hours per 2 weeks.  Some clients can be extremely violent and staff is left feeling isolated and unsupported with little to no guidance on how to handle the situations.

 They don't require previous experience to obtain a job which leaves staff and participants in massive amounts of confusions, poor work ethic, poor problem solving skills, and ultimately poor service for the clients. Nor is the training up to par, SIVA is not adequate to support high needs/risk participants. No one even knows what SIVA IS! Unaccredited training. 

What this company demands from you is basically your soul; when they preach about the importance self-care, but don't support staff in a healthy manner to enable them to take time for self-care. This work is front line work, and they leave staff hanging with poor wages, being overworked, and minimal job skills. 

For entry level work into this type of career, I would not recommend bonaventure. There's better, more established providers who care about their staff and participants. The lack of communication and organization within this company really leaves no creativity for staff or clients to excel and have an overall better quality of life. The decision the higher ups make are irrational and blatantly uneducated, with a dash is narcissism leaving staff and participants in the dust. 

You don't gain skills when working here. It's better to find entry level work that will teach you something. 

0/10 - would not recommend.

What was once a fun, relaxed and inspiring place of work has become a toxic den of disrespect.
Once, this company cared about their individuals and staff, I swear they really did. What happened? "management" went from a kind goal of providing service and a better life to adults and children, while giving back to the community. It's turned into every other business who turns their back on human rights and decency to people. Rumors and gossip are all the higher up's listen to. 
Communications went from great to everything being a secret. You could literally give your all to this business and be treated like some awful wart that needs to be removed. I've never been so traumatized by the way a boss/superior has treated me and many others 
You will receive no training, no help or guidance yet you will be expected to perform perfectly, if you don't that's on you, management takes no responsibility for what is actually their short comings. The turn over is constant
I've had incredible days here, many. but that was a very long time ago. It makes me incredibly sad and mad to think of what good intentions once existed for this company, even more so it makes me mad that I've allowed myself to be treated so poorly for so long.
Unionize, stand up for yourselves and other coworkers! People need to be stopped from treating staff like this.
I'll be moving on shortly. If you consider this job just remember to come in knowing your rights as a worker and don't allow yourself to be treated poorly

Let me start by saying this job is not worth $17. They will consistently on a daily basis have you working overtime for free and its expected as a "good team member." If you need help or bring any concerns to their attention they will not help you and solely reflect that as poor performance on your part. Never speak to management for help. If you need help ask staff. The staff are amazing and will help show you the ropes for everything. The company is clearly out to make money and will take on clients without considering the best interest of the client. If you bring this up it is you who will be fired. They will not give you any warning when your shifts change. You could think you have the next day off and SURPRISE no one called you to say its changed and YOU are in trouble. They expect you to come in early (unpaid) everyday to see if you work or if your schedule has changed and stay late everyday to do paperwork (also unpaid.) Say goodbye to ever making your own plans again. If something goes wrong and because of lack of care and organization it will, they will not own any responsibility for it and throw you as the worker under the bus instead. They will not give you any heads up about potential performance problems and you may just end up helping train your replacement. So watch out if they start hiring new people and slowly reducing your hours. I have never felt less like a human being and more like a kleenex to be used up and thrown away than I have by this company. Their clients deserve better. And so do you.

A typical day at work is walking into an unknown environment deescalating a situation a lazy staff has deescalating. There is no time allotted for cross talk so u do that on your time. They don’t care about there field employees wellbeing. Only the office employees and there benefits. Clients don’t get the proper support as they hire anyone. Most are students or people working a second job and don’t have the energy or knowledge to fulfill there duties and it shows with the clients and there reactions and energy. Your expected to get hit and take the brunt of the clients rage and call the cops and carry on. Under staffed as a client requires one on one care and is funded but only ever schedule for two clients on one staff. Clients aren’t matched for compatibility so you’re expected to constantly deescalate expected behaviours. No proper orientation shifts in new houses so u need to read about the clients and how to support them while supporting them got an orientation from a person on there first shift For the one time I got a orientation. High turnover with no accountability. Writing this all is against company policy. Hire a young girl and say it’s a sweet client when the client likes to punch face. Managers have favourites and will get staff to do there job while they do there own personal hobbies and argue with clients then leave and let u deal with it. 

This field is hard, and definitely has its struggles but I have been with this company for a while have seen a lot of positive changes. The company have grown substantially, with growth comes changes in policy. Some of which some people don’t agree with but is necessary for a company of this size. The upper management has had some changes, and the new staff seem to really care. The program manager are very passionate, and put their all into it. The company seem to be investing more into their employees, and offer new training opportunities. If an employee has issues their manager and they can’t resolve the owner has made time to sit and talk with them. In my experience it has always been positive and they genuinely care about concerns of employees . I see some negative reviews and I wonder if they even took the time to discuss these issues with management.There are employees, especially managers who work really hard to make this place positive. Yes, some days are hard, and some clients can be difficult, but there is always someone to debrief too, and the job is incredible rewarding. At Christmas they cooked over 100 meals and delivered it to their clients. They are always trying to do small things like that when they can. There are lots of opportunities for growth as the company is growing fast. 

Dont waste your time with this job, no one listen to your concern, management doesnt care about staff, the level of stress is at its highest. Most youth knows they can do whatever they want and take advantage of it. Staff dont have any control and have to deal with whatever is happening, lots of violence and management dont really help when that happens. Importante Incident happens all the time and you still have to come back to the same house even if you dont feel safe to go there. Management will make you feel bad about being concern for your safety. Most of the time there is nothing for you to eat in fridges, no one really do their part when comes to cleaning the programs. Housing are dirty and smelly (some are okay). You are literally a taxi,cook,cleaner, therapist, security guard and much more for only 20$/hour its ridiculous. Ill stop here but i could go on and on about this company. Overall it is a really bad place to work. 

Support work requires compassion, patience and a drive to assist people to reach their fullest potential. This job can be exhilarating, sometimes exhausting, faced paced as well as relaxing, mentally challenging and unbelievably rewarding all at the same time. 
Bonaventure Support Services offers first hand experience in fostering connections and providing the opportunity to their individuals to live and exist as a contributing member of the community while being valued for one's abilities and uniqueness, regardless of their disability.
Bonaventure Support Services values it's employees with recognition, feedback and communication. There is room for growth, professional development is offered and ideas for new and relevant educational training is welcomed. 

I can't even say that this is a good stepping stone job.  Most of my coworkers were burned out from the thanklessness coming from both clients and upper management.  If you want to make any real money or be appreciated, DO NOT WORK HERE. 
On a further note, don't even enter this industry.  

As a current employee at the Duncan Outreach Branch, I can say that this job requires you to be patient, compassionate about what you do for work, and dedicated as well. Management has always been willing to have one on one meetings with it's staff, if they have concerns or issues or just want to discuss new ideas and/or new strategies about their clients or themselves. Schedules are made flexible to help you balance your home life and still give care and provide for the individuals assigned to you. Great place to work, awesome individuals that are unique, and staff meetings are held every month like clock work. Every bit of effort you put forth is noticed in this challenging but extremely rewarding career choice

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Support worker 2 salaries reported	$25.39 per hour
Youth worker 2 salaries reported	$25.39 per hour
Program manager 1 salary reported	$32.16 per hour

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