support worker

shelter support worker

relief worker

cook

support staff

YWCA

A typical day at work involves a lot of client interaction, one on one discussions, advocating for their needs to outside organizations, and generally doing what I can to move our clients forward so they may live happy and comfortably outside the YWCA. 

Through the day I administer their medications as they are kept in the office to ensure that they are taken consistently and safely. I notate the daily events for each individual client, complete room checks/searches, complete intake processes, or discharge processes, and bag checks. 

I am also responsible for completing any warning procedures and behavioural contracts for guests who behave outside the guidelines. 

One of the hardest parts about my job is being able to separate myself, and turn off my emotions and that need to save the world so that I can empower the client to realize their own potential through solution focus therapy. It's hard to not cry along with them when they are opening up to me but I realize I cannot help them if I react on my emotions instead of my professional instinct and knowledge base. 

The best part about my job is when I have successfully broken through the barriers and made even the slightest difference in the lives of my clients. Knowing that I brought a smile to a face that was drowning in tears makes all the difficulties of my job worth while.

At the YWCA I'm usually one of the only staff on during my shift. There are at times Offsite Team Leaders and the Operations Manager in the lower offices during the day, but the overnight shifts I am entirely on my own. There is 30 minute shift change between shifts to allow an exchange of information and a debriefing period which is a necessity to ensure we don't take it home with us if anything happened during the shift. 

What I've learned is that my past is my future. What I mean by this is that the events of my past which in the moment were difficult to endure are now fuel the ignites my passion. I have life experience to bring to the table, and a strong knowledge base to push me forward. I've learned that the things that once plagued me are the things that now empower me to help others.

A Typical day at work is 7:30am to 10:30pm at the summer camp. The hours are long, but it doesn't even feel like you're working. From start to finish you spend your day with children, and creating a magical experience at camp for them. You will run activities for the kids like zip-lining, stand up paddle boarding, canoeing, fire building, and many more. For adults its like being a kid again getting to do all these things, but also watching the kids have the time of their lives doing them is the best part. So the long hours aren't so long. You would work Sunday nights to Friday afternoons, where you would get scheduled breaks and time to yourself. The Management team is by far the most supportive and friendly team you could ask for. They will treat you like family, and make you want to push, to be the best version of yourself. The hardest part of the job will change for every person. Whether it's the long days, or always having to be in a positive mood, even during the rainy days. Or maybe it's the homesick kid that won't go to sleep, or a child who has trouble behaving. Regardless, the management team will help you to solve the problem. I've learnt a lot working there, its a once in a life time experience and everyones journey is different, I would recommend working there for self exploration, finding your strengths and weaknesses, and finding out what you are capable of.

- A typical day of work would consist of administrative support to the Manager of Housing, in addition, to all of the case managers, and also support to residents of the Mary Dover House.
- The greatest lesson learned at this position was that even the smallest group of people can make a significant impact on creating change in the community. The position brought many challenges as I was exposed to an environment which focused on providing a transitional housing program for women faced with adversity. Therefore, there was high exposure to women dealing with addictions/mental health/domestic abuse situations. However, I handled all matters with a high level of compassion and sensitivity. A truly rewarding position.
-Management was very professional, yet had an open door policy. Very supportive and great to work for.
-Co-workers were very warm and friendly. Everyone worked together as a team.
- The most difficult aspect of the job was hearing the womens stories as to why they were utilizing our transitional housing program. Majority of the women were living in very difficult situations.
- The most enjoyable part of this position was being able to go home knowing that each day I was a part of a team that impacted the future of womens lives for the better.

I was very excited to join company, but the work is unbalanced and unorganized. I was hired for one position, and within two months I was shifted to another position without even asking me. In every program they hire people with 6 months of probation, and once its over they let you go, without any notice. Too much micromanaging, keep an eye on every activity, what time you come and when you go. Even if you do more than your job role, its never enough, and given any random work for very less pay. Zero work life balance. There is no Job guarantee, no good management, anyone is told to do anyones jobs and then it makes the simple work critical. I was not told what kind of job it is during interview, they just said you will know when you join. Keeps you in blind spot. Keep hiring new people but no one is lately permanent. Although you have lots of vacations and sick leaves, 50% insurance you have to pay, which does not even cover 100% claim. If you are used to working with tight deadlines and stressful work environment, this job is perfect for you.

The YWCA was once a place I was excited to be a part of that had an excellent team environment and the work was fulfilling and engaging. Some culture shift and office politics had been making it a less nice workplace over the years, but the current regime has scrubbed out the good and left only confusion from negligible communication and sudden inexplicable changes seemingly made on a whim.

The workplace culture has gone from being open and free communication to a need-to-know system where it would seem that nobody needs to know anything making it stressful at best. 
The most enjoyable part of the job was helping community members and clients to make meaningful improvements in their lives.
The hardest part of the job was keeping up with changes that weren't communicated well and decisions that put staff at risk such as encouraging us not to call police if we needed help and not to report clients for assault or engaging in other unlawful practices.

The work, the co-workers, and the clients make this job great. Management in housing is horrific. No advancement opportunities for people who have been working here for years, and no respect for the workers who have feedback or suggest changes. Feedback about clients is never heard by management, and usually passed on and ignored. Concerns about the workplace are also shunned and feedback is shut down if brought up. Management refuses to hire for empty positions due to "not meeting qualifications" but pays way too low for the qualifications they expect. 

The hardest part is not being able to do the best job you can because of management not listening to front-line workers or client issues, and not receiving any support from management when providing feedback or dealing with hard client issues.

The most enjoyable part is helping clients, hearing their stories and knowing you are doing good for people, and having support from fellow co-workers despite not having managements.

In the most part the staff was fun and very helpful, when need to interact with office staff always accommodating, work there was a good balance of having fun, executing productive creative work, resulting in the next thing you know "Its time to go home". It seems everyone likes to go to work and we all like to go home and do our thing, a good balance.   
Working in Maintenance I meet most all the facet's of the YWCA, some coworkers I got to know better and others just in passing all seem to have a smile, there was a true since of team sprite we seamed to inherently know many hands, less work. Maintenance can offer the opportunities of expanding your knowledge in your given trade and ample knowledge of all trades involved in a commercial site. 
Planes for the future YWCA seem only to insure working there will only get better with expanding opportunities, and lets not forget work for an organization which helps so many is very satisfying especially when you witness the results yourself,


The YWCA itself has a good foundation, i believe it could be a great place to work if there are some major overhauls. Management for the most part is completely unapproachable. There is maybe one or two managers that don't jump down your throat or make life a living nightmare while working there if you try to make suggestions or just need to talk. 
They say that they are good for "empowering women" and promoting from within, but alas that is also a misconception. I was told 5 times that I was "next in line" for promotions, yet they hired other off of the street that had less experience then me but stated that "you just don't have enough program experience" only to find out that the people they hired were friends of the managers / had less experience then i did. 
Residents are out of control and you fear for your safety most days, and honestly its just an awful place to work. the pay was good, and benefits were great, but the stress and anxiety that this job put me under is not worth that kind pay honestly. 

A typical day at work would include setting up the meeting space for the Girl's and preparing snacks in order to have a lengthy discussion on what we as a community can do to increase feminism and raise awareness for violence against women. From this experience, I was able to learn many leadership, team building, and communication skills from various workshops provided by the center. The management and coworkers were all friendly and approachable making the work space safe and fun. The hardest part of the job would be staying focused on the task and not veering too far off topic. This occurred often as many topics discussed were related to other more heated discussions. To prevent this we often assigned someone in charge of keeping the group on topic. The most enjoyable part of the job would be being able to work with your close friends. As well, being invited to many events such as the Women's of Distinctions Awards, workshops, flash mobs and poetry slams was truly an inspiring part of the job.

I worked at YW Calgary and unfortunately had a very negative experience with the workplace culture and management.

During my time there, I experienced what felt like workplace bullying from a direct supervisor. Instead of support or constructive guidance, the communication style was often intimidating and dismissive, which created a stressful environment.

Another concern was the lack of transparency in management decisions. A senior accountant who had been working there previously was laid off without a clear or reasonable explanation, which created anxiety and uncertainty among the team.

Overall, the environment felt unsupportive and there appeared to be limited accountability for management behavior. I believe the organization would benefit from stronger HR oversight, clearer communication, and a healthier leadership culture.

Top Job Titles	Average salary
Support worker 39 salaries reported	$23.24 per hour
Shelter support worker 18 salaries reported	$49,341 per year
Relief worker 15 salaries reported	$27.83 per hour
Cook 13 salaries reported	$21.60 per hour
Support staff 24 salaries reported	$23.00 per hour

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