Elizabeth Fry Society of Ottawa

Don’t burn out working for an org that could care less about you:

- staff are grossly underpaid 
- hourly rate was $19 for years, but was only recently raised a few mere percentages after MUCH (and years-long negotiations) and the Executive Director thought we should all be eternally grateful for that 
- staff are expected to cover 2, 3, sometimes 4 different roles for the same amount of pay 
- burnout if high amongst staff 
- staff turnover is a joke - speaks volumes to culture 
- the Executive Director has no clue what she is doing, doesn’t know how to keep good staff, and was hired to be more inclusive and team-oriented (unlike the previous ED who ran the agency like a dictatorship), but she’s none of those things;
example: she’s been with the agency for about two years and has yet to visit the scattered offices to sit with staff; her advocacy skills are atrocious; she doesn’t work as a team, she’s awful at compromise; she doesn’t listen to her staff or management, she’s condescending and a total narcissist, she could care less about how her decisions impact staff, etc. 
- there’s no proper training offered to new staff as the previous workers in those same positions have long resigned 
- management tries their best and one in particular really does try to support her staff, but under the ED, there’s never any real positive change allowed - now that manager has resigned too!!! 
- staff got railroaded during union talks (this happens every time)
- volunteers and students are put under enormous pressure with unrealistic expectations 
- staff are fired without any real warning or reason 
- large amounts of funding come in, but the money just disappears and no one can account for where it’s going - funders have no idea what really goes on in the agency 
- single staffed residences are unsafe, decrepit, drug-riddled, chaotic 
- turnover on the board of directors is  high, again speaks volumes 
- overall penny pinchers - ED and administration are cheap and count everything to the last cent 
- staff have been paying for the previous ED and current Director of Operations to go on leave for YEARS each without so much as an explanation or date of return. Staff pay into this leave (which is mandatory), but never use it themselves and can’t afford to pay into it because salaries are so low.

Working in this position provided me the opportunity to counsel and facilitate groups in the community, at the office, and at the Ottawa Carleton Detention Centre. I worked mainly with women who were inn conflict with the law and who had concurrent disorder (individuals with addictions who were diagnosed with mental health disorders).

I managed a case load of over 100 clients and focused mainly on harm reduction using the housing first model.

A typical day included counselling approx. 4-5 individual clients and running groups (group counselling and programming) twice a week with approx. 8-10 clients in the community and at the detention centre.

The hardest part of the job was realizing that every client I worked with were not going to make full recoveries and recognizing the barriers that limited funding plays on social service organizations.

The most enjoyable part of the job was seeing clients return and having the flexibility to work in different locations doing the same work.

I learned a lot about myself, the social services sector, and the individuals who rely on social services.

While working with residents is meaningful and it is a good way to get entry level front line experience, the organization and team is poorly managed. When employees try to speak up or address issues there is little or no response and nothing changes. Policies/procedures, training, security, general administration, and condition of residence are all poorly managed despite multiple complaints from staff and residents. Employees are overworked and there is significant staff turn over. Due to shortages staff are often asked to work 12 hr. shifts with no breaks because it is single-staffed. Expect to learn the job and deal with crisis and/or challenging situations yourself with little guidance.  

For a student placement there was a remarkable amount of flexibility in day-to-day activities or roles you could learn from. Lots of opportunity to attend training or get involved with different departments/ roles and work directly with clients in a number of programs. Staff are primarily based around funding dependant contracts but some positions are unionized. Great team willing to help you with any task and passionate about what they do; I would highly consider working here.

Pros:
Clients are great to work with

Cons:
-Low hourly pay and low km's pay
-Pay for a union that doesn’t help
-Working out of the Bronson Centre (mice)
-staff quits before 6 months
-board offers no support
-No recognition or appreciation from the agency
-Micro management approach
-Not enough training and no material
-agency asks for staff feedback but never make any changes
-Long going history of agency only looking out for clients and not staff
-Disorganized
-no retirement fund

Horrible work life balance, no support for staff, management cares more about funding than they do the safety and well-being of clients; you’re forced to act as a CO most of the time and in a punitive way. Good luck trying to challenge management when you see clients being mistreated. Far from being an abolitionist organization, stay clear if you have high morals and standards. 

Poor management and lack of training. Low salary.
Barely any support or guidance because managers don’t actually know what your job is for the most part and the high turn over rate makes it next to impossible to keep up with clients without them falling through the crack. Office morale was horrible. This is supposed to be a feminist organization, yet it’s an all women team and can get pretty catty.

This company is great to work for and everyone is very passionate about their job.The bad part about the job is not ever getting a raise. The starting wage is your ending wage; there is rarely a possibility for growing into bigger and better things, you are stuck in the same position. The people I work with are great and everyone is super friendly.

I’ve been working here for 7 months and I really enjoy it. Sometimes the job is stressful, but management is really supportive. The pay isn’t amazing but they really make an effort to do everything they can and make you feel appreciated. 

A "feminist" organization that treats staff unfairly. 
They really are the exact opposite.
Board members claim that change is on the horizon all the time.
False promises. Unprofessional.

Working at Elizabeth Fry Society of Ottawa: company overview and reviews

Elizabeth Fry Society of Ottawa

Elizabeth Fry Society of Ottawa ratings

Salary satisfaction

Job seeker tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected