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Wrinklestiltskin t1_iqvr012 wrote

Reply to comment by Shadow11Wolf50 in Lakeland 😳 by steadyfiction

I work for Burrell as a caseworker and while I absolutely openly criticize certain policies and ways things operate (including the disregard for employee's mental health), this is a very ignorant statement.

Burrell provides services to so many people in our region that would otherwise fall thru the cracks. There's transitional housing programs that teach people how to live independently, who would otherwise be destined to remain in residential care facilities while their court-appointed guardian would otherwise happily leave them for the rest of their lives.

There is very much needed homeless support services in our area. I bet you're one of the same users who complains that we need more social support for our homeless population, yet here you are saying that the largest provider of homeless outreach should cease to exist.

While Burrell makes a sickening amount of money and I'm underpaid by them, they are a nonprofit and put so much back into our community.

Burrell is a huge organization, and with that comes failures, poor practice, and valid criticisms. But even as a bitter and resentful employee, seeing the common over-the-top criticisms in this sub is just absurd.

Burrell objectively makes our community a better place with so many mental health and social programs that otherwise wouldn't exist. I know for a fact that I have made significant positive impacts in the lives of my clients over the years.

There is plenty to complain about, but this level of criticism is unrealistic and just tells me that you do not comprehend the variety of services offered by Burrell, nor what truly rampant bad practices look like.

I am not dismissing a likely bad experience you've had, but rather what you're extrapolating from it and using to make such sweeping generalizations from a place of bias and ignorance. I've witnessed bad practices at times, namely in satellite locations. I've made internal reports and complaints about providers and departments before. Scheduling is a nightmare too right now, and wait times for people entering services is a lot longer than it history has been.

These are valid criticisms. Provide your own rather than inaccurate sweeping generalizations. Because as it stands, you're telling me I should be out of a job; my clients should be left high and dry; multiple substance use treatment centers should be closed; our rapid access unit for people in crisis for mental health/substance use should be shut down; no more children's/autism center/treatment; we should end the largest homeless outreach services in our area; terminate medication management, counseling, DBT, EMDR, case management, and other programs for thousands of people in need of help.

Burrell is far from perfect and I have been very outspoken about that in this sub. But I'm so sick and tired of the outrageous criticism in this sub, usually without any specific substantive examples. It's become a circle-jerk in this sub, and it only detracts from legitimate complaints.

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_ism_ t1_iqvxz00 wrote

You're right. I'm a former homeless person in services with Burrell. I do have MAJOR complaints about my attempt to stay in therapy with a provider who will work at Burrell long enough to cover at least one year's treatment plan. But my case workers and their assistance helping me apply for and stay on benefits, medicaid, and get into housing? Invaluable. Even if I still haven't been able to keep the same case managers, they do a lot more to transfer me to a new case manager than the therapists did to get me into mental health sessions with someone new, so we're still trying to start on a plan that we came up with in 2019, but ....yeah. Better than none of that for damn sure!

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Wrinklestiltskin t1_iqw48g9 wrote

See, now that sounds exactly like a level-headed valid criticism! And there are plenty of them to go around, don't get me wrong.

The turnover rate is pretty wild, and it's only gotten worse in this industry after covid. I've been at it for over 5 years, and still have some OG clients. But I've gotten some transferred to my caseload that have complained of having in the upwards of 5 different caseworkers in a period of 6 months. That is unacceptable to me... No way to build rapport and have an adequate therapeutic relationship with that kind of turnover rate. Must feel like having the rug pulled out from under you every time you regain your balance..

And the turnover rate for therapists and psychiatric providers is too high too, imo. Doesn't help that the demand and application for services continues to swamp the people who handle intakes. Unfortunately the wait time right now for entering those services is ridiculous.

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