To the Editor:
While I am glad to see that the Governor, Attorney General, and many others working to improve the Dept. of Children and Families ( DCF), I hope that they look into other Human Service agencies as well. I worked for the Dept. of Mental Retardation (DMR), now the Dept. of Developmental Disabilities (DDS) for 13 years, and prior for DMR venders for around 30 years. This Dept. too has many problems. It is sad to say that I think that because they deal with people with disabilities that their deaths get over looked. Too often it is that “they are in a better place” or that this happens away from family, that it really does not get the exposure.
My experience with them, along with my long time involvement in governance, and an academic, as well as work experience in the field enables me to address this. They too have budget problems that end up cutting back vital services to be effective. But, there are also Cultural and work place environmental conditions that also contribute to their problems.
As with any business there are the good and the bad. My experience was both. I live in Westfield but got a position as a shift supervisor in Greenfield. And, while there were opportunities to re-locate closer to home I decided it was better to drive for an hour to work than to transfer do to the work place environments else where.
While taking the numerous training classes offered, and from my involvement in Union meetings I learned that the internal conflicts between staff; staff and nursing, staff and supervisors, etc., was so negative it was better to drive the distance.
Yes, we too had our shift versus shift difference that got down right destructive, but over all I had a good shift and supervisor. As well, the people that lived at the house were pretty capable.
Then I switched shifts, and we got new staff, so for the last 2 years it got nasty as the new staff did whatever they could to discredit me so as to get me to quit, to get my job. One even told me that while he liked me, if I am in his way he would run me over if I was in his way. When I switched shifts it was because the woman I replaced committed suicide.
What amazes me is that an agency created to deal with mental health and disability issues has so little understanding of them when it comes to staff. I was bullied, and reported it; lied about and reported it; and even physically threatened and reported it. But nothing was done about it. So, at age 65 I had enough of being coerced into retiring, and retired pre-maturely even though how much I would earn in retirement was much less, but the physiological and emotional abuse lead to depression and stress that was not only taking a toll on my work, but on me, and with which I still struggle. As well, this was an unhealthy environment for those we were there to help. Not only in environment, but when people with less experience, and less education do all they can to show up those they want to replace it is also dangerous.
So I hope that while we are looking into DCF, we look into DDS as well. I will be sending a copy of this letter plus additional information to the Governor, and Attorney General.
Brian Hoose
