support worker

youth worker

home care worker

residential manager

vocational rehabilitation counselor

Milieu Family Services

Horrible company to work for. They apparat to be great when you initially apply and are very paper heavy in the beginning with multiple days of trainings (mostly to cover themselves in case something ever goes wrong, according to many managers I’ve had). The moment you begin you first orientation, you realize how disorganized and chaotic this company is. I’ve worked at multiple homes and it’s the same story overall. The only reason I stayed as long as I did was due to forming a genuine bond with the individual I worked with as well as the staff and wanting to be able to help in any way I could. It not only takes a toll on your mental and physical health, the company higher ups don’t even care. There’s definitely many petty people in HR who will try to harass an employee into quitting or force transfer them from one location to the next if they’re worried you’ll speak out against the conditions staff and individual are in. One good thing is you meet some really great people and bond with staff as you work. The individuals are very aggressive but when you have a good day, it’s definitely worth it to be there with them. I just wish this company cared more about their staff and individuals. The turnover rate is the highest I have ever seen in a company and I definitely understand why. Lack of appreciation, blaming staff and telling them they are incompetent, overworking managers to the point where they are on-call 24 hours a day and work shifts with staff and much more. Avoid it if you can, there’s better companies in this industry than this one. Good place if you’re just starting and have zero experience and need your foot in the door in this field. 

When starting at Milieu, the experience was good. It seemed like an ideal place to work. As time progressed, it became evident that that was not the case. When entering into management things continued to be fine, there was some support from upper management at the beginning of the transition, and coordinators were more than willing to help out and were always there for advice. As time continued and trials came up, both at work and in personal life; the work was not appreciated. Managers do not receive any appreciation for the work they do, despite the countless hours that are put in, above and beyond the typical 5 day a week, 8 hour work day. When times were hard, instead of being given support, actions were taken to "help" the situation, or ultimately resulting in being demoted. This was not a good way to handle a situation, and instead of making the situation better, it made it worse. For an organization that works with individuals with mental health & disabilities, I would have hoped there would have been a higher regard for the wellbeing of managers and other employees, but unfortunately this was not the case. 
I had always recommended Milieu to friends, as I really appreciated the work they were doing. Seeing now how upper management handles situations, I would not recommend it to anyone. A large amount of what staff experience is based on how their managers are. Good managers impact the staff, which helps have an overall positive environment in the home. Instead of encouraging, uplifting, and investing in good managers, little pieces are picked apart and people are shut down, resulting in feeling inadequate and like all the work that was invested was for nothing. 
I do not recommend working here, if you value your mental health. It is a trying job, and can take a real toll on your well being. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
I recently went through the hiring process and wanted to share my experience for transparency.

The team was initially welcoming, and I appreciated the opportunity to engage in onboarding and training. However, the process lacked consistency and clear communication. I was scheduled for multiple trainings and began onboarding activities without receiving a formal written offer or clear confirmation of employment terms.

There were several instances where I had to follow up multiple times to receive basic information about training schedules, expectations, and next steps. Communication often felt reactive rather than proactive.

Most notably, after being onboarded into training and progressing through the process, the offer was withdrawn abruptly based on “fit,” which was unexpected given the stage of onboarding and prior interactions.

While I understand that hiring decisions are complex, clearer communication, structured onboarding processes, and ensuring formal offers are in place prior to training would greatly improve the candidate experience.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
The most stressful part was the lack of clear and consistent communication during onboarding, along with uncertainty around employment status while being scheduled for training without a formal written offer in place.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The team appeared collaborative and supportive, with a strong focus on client care and training. However, from a candidate perspective, the onboarding experience felt somewhat unstructured, and communication could be more consistent to better support new staff.

At our program, we have the privilege to care for a number of fun, caring & unique individuals who're usually, active out in the community. COVID restrictions & a lack of staff with the necessary driver's licence have put a monkey wrench in their activities. That along with a revolving door of staff has made things hard for residents & staff alike. We're looking for Fun, Qwarky and most importantly Caring people from all walks of life who are looking for honest work. People who want a long-term career. Our residents deserve people they can count on into the future. 
           - Benefits are there, but they could be better ($$ ngl)
           - Essential work. Job security is 100% (Lay - off? Down Season? 
             these words mean nothing to us lol)
           - *Que angel choir* Paid vacation. 
           - we had paid sick days before it was cool
           - That feeling when the work you do actually matters  
YOUTH SIDE:
youth are in care because of unique and high care needs. It's not going to be all unicorns and rainbows, forget everything you've seen watching  TV. 1These kids can be withdrawn, violent, self-destructive and more. It's the nature of the job. Think very long and hard before jumping into the youth side, unless you have prior experience & training working with kids (ECE etc)  not everyone, including myself, has what it takes to work with youth.  They WILL test you, as they've seen a revolving door of staff. The rewards are few but HUGE!!!!

I have worked for Milieu for 2.5 years and thoroughly enjoyed my experiences with the agency as a youth worker, and now as a manager. When I first started as a casual, I was supported by my coworkers, and my manager to be the best version of my self, and to inspire others to do the same. My manager saw my potential to be an effective team player and permanent staff, and within three weeks of employment, I was offered a full time position. I am eternally grateful to him for empowering me to be successful, and appreciate the entire Milieu Management team for the hard work that they do; whether they are supporting an individual, providing staff training or facilitating opportunities for their employees to advance their careers and reward them for their dedication and hard work with Steppin' up awards. 

As an experienced youth worker, I was enthusiastic to work with MCFD and Vancouver mental health teams to support our high risk individuals engage in programs and become contributing citizens in the communities of the lower mainland. Milieu offers a fast paced work culture and various opportunities to participate in case management for the individuals we serve. 

Some days can be challenging, and there are days where you may not get along with your coworkers or the individuals; however, working in social services is rewarding, and I would never want to do anything else.

I am a new employee with Milieu and I have been impressed with passion and high standards of my new co-workers and the leadership of this organization. The youth we work with are complex but the supportive leaders and excellent training has created a culture of passion. Youth growth and stabilization is the focus of everything we do. I used to work for a competitor, different society and I am so glad I switched to work at Milieu. I feel fortunate to have found a work place that feels like a family. That said, I’ve noticed of the other newer staff members seem to work in school boards and past experience working in health setting. I think it’s important for all new workers in residential setting to know that working with complex special needs youth can be much more intense than in other more controlled youth centered fields. I think new workers need to be prepared and aware for these differences otherwise when these staff leave due to the intensity, the only people who end up getting hurt are the youth we support. It’s important for new staff to be aware residential work is complex, and can be intense, but if you follow the youth’s plans and use the training Milieu gives the success reached by our youth is very rewarding!

Being hired months ago and I haven't even been orientated to any of the homes.
So slow to get the ball rolling and you need to give 3 full 24-hour days availability which is outrageous I would say.
Most companies require minimum 3 shift availability per week but this company requires you to have three full days of 24 hours each availability (9 shifts availability straight if you count three days in a row)
and guarantees  hours per week.
With this economy and prices being so high; who can afford three full days free for availability and guaranteed no pay?
If you want to do an overnight shift be ready to send an email every hour to check in, which is crazy.
If you take plan to the community be ready to check in every few hours with your manager to say where you are and what you're doing. (Micromanaging)
Other companies I worked for have two times call in the night not every hour email check in stocking pretending to check if staff is okay.
So different than most companies I've worked for in the past 10 years.
The great thing about it is that you can carry your seniority from other places to this company so you can get better pay after you pass probation.


Firstly, there is a lack of clear communication from management regarding important updates and changes. This has resulted in confusion and delays in our work processes. It would be greatly beneficial if there could be more consistent and transparent communication channels established all the managers are uneducated and don’t have people skills.

Secondly, the lack of support and guidance from management has made it challenging for team members to perform at their best. Feedback and constructive criticism are essential for growth and improvement, but unfortunately, they have been minimal or non-existent. It would be valuable if there could be more regular check-ins and feedback sessions to help us develop professionally. Instead of accusing staff of doing a bad job. The MANAGERS are truly BULLIES

Lastly, decision-making seems to be centralized, with little input or involvement from the team. This has led to a sense of disempowerment and a feeling that our opinions and expertise are not valued. managers often never checked in with staff, they make you do all of their work and expect you to obey all their rules. 

Please stay away from this company. They don’t care for the youth in care. 

I have worked in group homes supporting adults for about a year in both Surrey and Langley.  All the managers I have met are very nice and knowledgeable about the people we support and agency polices and procedures whenever I’ve had a question or concern. There was only one manager that I felt wasn’t upholding the values of the company, but he has recently left. My co-workers are very hardworking and fun to work with, we are always laughing and shifts go fast. Milieu puts great effort to train staff in positive behaviour support, communication systems and helping people connect in their community. I have always felt appreciated at work. The managers do fun team building games around holidays and send submissions to the HR department for prizes and at staff meetings we play team games and have potlucks. The managers regularly give staff kudos appreciation cards, which are a nice touch because they are personalized.  These practices are seen agency-wide so appreciation and teamwork is fostered at Milieu. I am happy here at Milieu and feel it’s a good place to work.


This job is very fun and rewarding; however, consistency is key to the youth’s success. I would remind all new staff that is very important to remember following youth’s plans as it’s crucial to having a great shift. At Milieu, many of the youth have significant challenges, but if you understand what they need by observing their behaviour, it’s easy to help the youth have great days.  A big part of the job is going out in the community with the youth, this has been challenging with Covid. But with restrictions lifting it’s gotten easier. 

The youth do not always do well with change, so if you work here you need to understand the importance of consistency.  Milieu teaches an empowerment healing of trauma model through relationships, not control and restraints. Some staff have found this approach difficult because they believe negative actions should result in negative consequences. Milieu strongly opposes this mentality. Managers and the coordinator are always available to come in and assist or they are phone call away if issues arise, there is lots of support.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Support worker 3 salaries reported	$27.85 per hour
Youth worker 11 salaries reported	$29.36 per hour
Home care worker 7 salaries reported	$25.46 per hour
Residential manager 1 salary reported	$75,924 per year
Vocational rehabilitation counselor 2 salaries reported	$29.58 per hour

Working at Milieu Family Services: company overview and reviews

Milieu Family Services

Milieu Family Services ratings

Popular jobs at Milieu Family Services

Salary satisfaction

Job seeker tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected