Pros
If you stay at least a year, do your best, and don't burn any bridges with leadership, you can move on to a higher-paid job in homeless services. The tools of the trade are incredibly valuable when working with people who experience mental illness. You will get a ton of hands-on experience working with people experiencing homelessness, addiction, and mental health challenges. If you are considering working here there's a good chance you don't have a ton of options, and I can reassure you that working here for a year is not a terrible option. If you can do well at SHARE! you can do well anywhere. Peer Specialists at SHARE! seem to be much happier than people in housing and admin roles.
Cons
In a nutshell, respect and safety. The lack of respect shown to the rank and file and program coordinators can become incredibly demoralizing. You have to be prepared for this if you work here and keep your own counsel - giving leadership a piece of your mind may be tempting, but it will backfire. SHARE! prides itself on "not turning anyone away", and while this is an admirable sentiment, SHARE! takes this to an almost preposterous extreme. During my time at SHARE! I witnessed fist fights, people threatening and even assaulting staff, indecently exposing themselves, etc - and none of the people responsible were denied services, not even temporarily. These incidents almost always occurred when I was working alone - which you will simply be forced to do, no matter how volatile the people you are working with might be - and you will need to be able to exercise a high degree of situational awareness. You cannot expect SHARE! to prioritize your own safety. Turnover is astronomical, and staffing is always an issue. Company-wide changes in policy are made with no consultation. At the end of the day, working at SHARE! was a great decision for my career, and it's really not that bad for a year or so, but there are some serious challenges at this organization.