I am on the autism spectrum and struggle with extreme anxiety that has made it difficult for me to…read morefunction in a work environment. I have been a client of RCEB since 2016. So far I am not especially satisfied with the services I have had. They did provide funding for me to have an employment coach, but due to issues that shall remain confidential, I am currently unemployed, and getting a job has been put on the backburner while I sort things out. I live on my own but my parents continue to support me financially.
It's difficult for people in my situation to get help tailored to our needs. I am higher functioning than the majority of their clients are, but my anxiety has made obtaining and maintaining employment a challenge. The services they have told me about really don't sound like they would be of much use, as they are more for people who aren't able to care for themselves and struggle with basic life skills.
Then there's the issue of them never seeming to have my current information on file, despite me giving them the information multiple times. A few years ago I changed my phone number. I gave them my new number, and in addition I changed the voicemail greeting for my old number to say that I was no longer taking calls at that number and to please call me at (XXX) XXX-XXXX. But for some reason my new number never made it into their system. They do have my email address, which hasn't changed, and I do periodically receive emails from them. The date of my annual case review came and went and I didn't hear anything from them, either via phone or email. Finally I called them to ask what was going on. It took several weeks for my case manager to get back to me. When they finally did, they told me that, because they hadn't heard from me in a while and were unable to reach me because my phone number had been deactivated, they closed my case. They told me they emailed me about it but I never received any emails. So I had to go through the process of reopening my case.
Then about eight months ago I moved. I gave them my new address, and my case manager came to my house, both to assess my living situation and go over various stuff with me regarding the services they can provide. Since I'm not currently seeking employment, I didn't sign up for any services. My case manager said they would check in with me every three months, but several months went by and I didn't hear anything from them. Then a few days ago I received an email saying that they tried to send me a letter by mail so it was returned to them, and they scanned it and sent it to me in an email. When I looked at the address, I saw that it was my old address, where my parents are now living. They are my emergency contacts, so sending stuff to that address normally wouldn't be an issue since my parents would just give it to me. However, the reason why the letter was returned to them was that they misspelled the name of the street! The USPS didn't recognize the address, hence why the letter was returned.
I don't think that this was the case manager's fault, since they visited me at my current address (not only that but they never visited me at where I was living before). So whoever is in charge of handling the information they have on file needs to make sure everything is up to date. I check my phone and my email on a regular basis throughout the day, so if they were to contact me, I would get the notification.
Like a lot of other organizations, while they are coming from a good place, they are poorly managed, and as a result are difficult to work with.