licensed practical nurse

registered nurse

shelter support worker

paramedic

case worker

Safe Harbour Society

Rewarding in moments, when hearing  from Guests that  you make a difference in their daily lives.
Challenging  hours  assisting intoxicated, guests,  whom are unwell with variety of mental/physical/psychological  issues . 
Taking an immense amount of verbal abuse and threats from guests. Attending to overdoses, or violence in the Shelter, calling Security or 911 when no nurse or security were on a 12 hour shift. 
Management has gone from accommodating 20 guests a night , up to 200 in a few short years. That growth is unprecedented. It’s overwhelming, and the front line staff  take on a very heavy work load, while dealing with life /death situations, with an unpredictable population.  Management seems to be playing catch up to the  demands that come with a growth of guests. Putting all their  focus on guests needs, but sadly, lacking focus on keeping staff physically healthy,  supported and valued and heard. 
It was an incredible experience, but would not go back.  In hindsight, It’s too high risk work, with a high risk population, with no therapeutic support for the front line. 


I work in the Detox program as a case manager. It is incredibly rewarding, I love connecting with clients and seeing them grow. Most of the coworkers are incredible but some are bullies. Shifts are almost always 12 hours long, starting at 7:45 (AM or PM) and ending at 7:45 (AM or PM). Management has no idea what’s going on and has never actually done a case manager shift so they have no idea what we go through and they come in demanding changes and give certain clients special privileges just so they won’t discharge. If you won’t do one thing for ALL CLIENTS, don’t do something for one client. 
Management plays favourites and doesn’t talk to problematic employees so everyone else has to suffer still. You can also barely talk to management as they’re never in on Fridays and rarely show up on any other day of the week 

Would be an amazing company if it wasn’t for the management and HR staff for the detox program. Please start treating your staff like humans and at least act like you care about their wellbeing before you lose everyone.  

What is the best part of working at the company?
the best part was working with the homeless, and the wage was good.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
very poorly managed, high risk working conditions, poor communication.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
the management encourages snitching on fellow employees and manipulates them.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
frustrating, abusive, horrible working conditions, dirty, unorganized

Often under staffed and under resourced. Sporadic supervision and infrequent presence of management. 12 hour shifts and sometimes additional hours due to poor scheduling. Issues with and between staff ignored. Some of my coworkers had been there for 5 or more years with no.pay rise and the a new hire came in at a higher pay. So unfair.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Forming a strong and reliable team for the graveyard shift. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Caring for 100+ guests and making sure there are no incidents or at least trying to mend the situations to prevent further damage. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Adaptable, friendly, with open communication. 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Debrief with the day staff.
Choosing where we want to be in 3 hour quadrants so we each get to try something different during our 12 hour shifts.

What is the best part of working at the company?
Nothing. It's disgusting and dangerous

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Unsafe & Unhygienic conditions.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Work environment is dirty & chaotic. 
Culture is  no existent.

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Depressing & stressful.  Management  has no consistency creating more problem for all.

While the pay is well above normal and the work is rewarding (though difficult, dangerous, and stressful) the management and some of the senior staff I dealt with were not interested in the growth or development of their staff. They are unclear about expectations and you won't know they are displeased until you face reprimand or worse.

I would start around 12 pm so id eat lunch then i would go through donations size and tagged them. Some days i would fill little conditioner bottles or shampoo bottles or staple papers that need to be together. I would also help out clients with getting them some clothing or toiletry that they needed over all it was a good job!

Pay was ok. But the staff there dont matter to management. We all knew it. We all felt it everyday. We all talked about it. Keep making changes that dont make sense. No one below management ever knows what's going on anymore. The heart of that place is long gone. 

This work is heavy on the heart but can also he extremely rewarding. Leadership at SHS overall is very supportive. They often take people who have life experience but not post secondary education which can sometimes lead to blurred boundaries between employees and clients. 

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Licensed practical nurse 8 salaries reported	$30.56 per hour
Registered nurse 5 salaries reported	$39.60 per hour
Shelter support worker 3 salaries reported	$21.50 per hour
Paramedic 3 salaries reported	$32.00 per hour
Case worker 2 salaries reported	$23.00 per hour

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