I work at the local youth shelter. I get paid more because I've been here the longest, but my coworkers are hired at $14-15 an hour. We are in contact with social workers, dhhs, probation, and parents while our youth wait to be transported to treatment or have come to us from treatment and are transitioning back home.

They aren't supposed to be here for more than 3-4 weeks. They are often here for months because the folks I mentioned above are overloaded on cases. Most of them make a little bit more an hour than the rest of us. I get a whopping 25-cents more for having my bachelor's degree. I've been here 3.5 years and I'm the longest serving employee. I've only been able to stay so long because 1) I work the night shift, 2) I get a $3 differential in pay because I work nights, and 3) my husband is a teacher with two masters degrees and his pay makes it so I can afford to stay.

My coworkers have been here 1.5 years and the rest have less than six months. We just got a new boss, who has never worked in such an environment before. I suspect she'll burn out soon enough on her $45k salary.

It’s exhausting and traumatizing work. I have my masters but worked in community mental health. I lasted 3 years. The truth is that the pay and workload is so horrendous that people who truly love to do it burnout so quickly.

It’s not sustainable for workers but government agencies will cycle through new graduates because most often they are in these sites for internship (unpaid) hours while doing their degree. It’s a required part of the graduate programs so you’re adequately prepared to care for clients and patients.

Add on top our ethical codes means that when you’re burnt out realistically you need to scale back your work or step away entirely to ensure you don’t harm your clients and are effective at your work.

All that to say, I’m a huge proponent of single payer healthcare, better pay for workers, and training up the next generation of social workers and therapists.