youth worker

support worker

program manager

childcare provider

HERITAGE FAMILY SERVICES

While being employed by Heritage Family Services I certainly had my eyes opened to what it felt like to work with others who genuinely wanted to help others on a level similar to myself, and work for a company that didn't waver in their values. It was the first time I had worked with a team that felt united, accepting and supportive of one another.
I believe I was given a fair amount of responsibility and trust by my direct supervisor, management and the rest of the Heritage team. My supervisor helped me build confidence in not only myself, but in my ability to help others. My supervisor was a great teacher. He was communicative, open to my suggestions, mindful of my safety and well being, provided me with different tasks to build my skill set and I would say he wanted to see me advance in any way possible. 
The office environment felt like a group of friends, but a group of friends all working collectively- advocating and caring for the youth and for the greater good. It was nothing short of empowering for an individual such as myself who previously only worked 1-1 with clients but never engaging in a strong team who shared similar beliefs and values.
It didn't feel like the typical office environment. It felt like a place for staff and youth to all gather, work hard, but also decompress and support one another. 
The most challenging part I experienced in this position was emotional detachment from clients, as well, separating work life from my personal life. However, it was a lesson learnt in setting boundaries for my health and well being to ensure the quality of work I would provide would be up to standards. 
The values Heritage Family Services displays in their branding are not just advertisement. Those values are evident and active in each home, office space and program. 
I couldn't be more grateful for this opportunity. It helped me grow as a person and professional. I can safely say I learnt from each and every employee at Heritage Family Services.

In my short period of time with HFS I've been able to grow in so many areas compared to other organizations that I've worked with in the past. Heritage gives you the opportunity for growth and development within the organization, and they don't limit you to a box. If you have ideas management is very receptive, and there's an open door policy where you can connect with the CEO, COO or Operations Managers whenever you feel the need to. Salary wise they are competitive as well because there's a sliding scale where yearly you get an increment. So even if you don't start where you would like, I prefer this method because the other organizations that I've worked with in group care never gave this option and you would be stuck wherever you start at. They also encourage a work life balance, which is great for Team Leads and Coordinators. Also if there's a time where you would like extra hours for overtime this is an option as well.

Most would argue about the stress of the job itself, however from my experience the youth were lovely once you gain their trust. It was the management that made you feel belittled and disrespected. There are no supports in place to make you feel secure physically or emotionally. My biggest concerns with this agency is their lack of integrity. They are sneaky and sly, and non-inclusive. If you have a concern, they do everything they can to gaslight you and deflect from the problem. They don't care or give recognition to their front line workers. They dont care about the well-being of the youth either. The way their programs are structured are flawed and cheap. 
Only thing that I think was beneficial was the TCI training and diversity training to better understand the culture of the youth. I enjoyed the opportunities to attend pow-wows, and ceremonies. 
The only way I would try working here again is if management took front line staff seriously, and gave them the credit and support they deserve. 

What is the best part of working at the company?
They are understanding, and great for people the have children. They are one huge family and treat you as a team.

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Hours are long 12 h shifts and can be a very fast pace environment. The paperwork is long and can be intense depending on what is going on. 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
The work environment is good and the culture is great, however I think there should be more cultural activities with the company and would like to have monthly pow wows 

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Paperwork cooking, and taking youth to school or appointments and having fun activities with the youth.



The onboarding process was extremely disorganized and outdated, especially in terms of technology and communication tools. The organization would benefit from hiring individuals with strong leadership and systems thinking to address these issues effectively.

I experienced what I would describe as dismissive and invalidating behavior from HR, and there appeared to be little accountability taken for internal challenges. Staff concerns often went unheard, and transparency was lacking.

During my time there, I heard numerous concerning stories from coworkers about how employees and clients were treated. Gossip and negativity were common, which contributed to a difficult and unprofessional work culture.



I thought this job was amazing when I started- incredible mission, values etc. In the beginning, appeared to truly care about staff and clients but after 10 months realized that they don’t care about employees as they cut corners. I was consistently underpaid since they have a horrible pay tracking system and took sometimes 5 months for other extras to be paid. Some individual staff are incredible and make sure that you are well taken care of but general management at head office doesn’t give care about you are paid properly or on time. Extremely poor run company,  but will always have tons of hours to offer (if you don’t mind not getting paid for them).

Being a "person-focused" organization sounds great; however, they are only focused on the money they make. I truly feel for the youth who are in their 'care' as there is very little help available to them, especially as they are about to age out. The therapist team do not help at all, and somehow are expected to be respected. The pay is not great, shifts are hard, can barely keep staff, and hard expectations for each shift. You quickly see that they take any youth, regardless if staff and the agency can work/support them, because they just see the money behind it. 

I worked for this agency for multiple years. I worked in many of the different homes in two different towns. This agency is the most disorganized I’ve ever worked for. The managers set you up to fail but providing either no training or training that is a joke. The aboriginal awareness and suicide assist courses were so uninformative. There is no structure with management letting staff and clients do whatever they want. The management allows staff to buy or give underaged clients smokes. I will never work for this agency ever again.

What is the best part of working at the company?
When I handed in my resignation 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Management, the pay, expectations 

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
No loyalty, no support, you are either liked and will rise to the top or you are a worker

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
Loved the youth and liked most of my coworkers

They need to pay a lot more for the type of work there is. The mental health aspect alone is very exhausting. So many hours to fill and never enough staff. Other organizations pay at least $2 more, and even non profit pay considerably more. The pay is not worth the burnout. 


Top Job Titles	Average salary
Youth worker 2 salaries reported	$20.64 per hour
Support worker 2 salaries reported	$19.09 per hour
Program manager 1 salary reported	$77,287 per year
Childcare provider 1 salary reported	$20.64 per hour

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