Pros
It’s interesting that even for this review, I have to select my gender as “male” or “female”. (Do better Glassdoor). There are so many places that don’t see me for who I am or let me be me around my identity, even this app, that it’s awesome to work at a place like SMYAL that really allows me to be. Even more, it allows youth who need our support to be themselves. The management all the way to the Executive Director authentically care about the staff in a way I’ve never seen before. If you want a place that really works to support queer and trans youth, this is it! Just be careful, management doesn’t play with unprofessionalism with working with youth.
Cons
It’s not easy. Not everyone is cut out for direct service work with queer and trans youth. We train a lot on trauma and some staff don’t know how to deal with their own. “Everything is someone else’s fault”. But that’s rare. Still the best place I’ve worked to make a difference and be treated with dignity.