Gateway Youth Development Program

Stephanie _{on Google}

Aug 26th, 2021

This place hires people fraudulently. They promise you a job over a month prior, give you a fake orientation date, and then when that date comes, they reschedule it numerous times. They even make you pay $61 for the background check yourself and then refuse to refund it until after the orientation that never happens. This is illegally deceitful. If this is how you treat your employees, how do you treat your children in the program? DONT WALK, RUN.

Ryan Morelli _{on Google}

Mar 23rd, 2022

I was supposed to be hired by Gateway in May. I was really excited about working at this organization and making a difference in the community.
They gave me a start date of May 30, which was already about three weeks after I interviewed and submitted fingerprints and background check. I showed up for orientation on the 30th, but called because nobody was there, only to be told it had been "rescheduled because of memorial day." Okay, that's understandable, but sometimes places like these work holidays, and typically you would tell me that BEFORE the actual holiday. She told me on the phone that she thought it would be next monday instead, to which I showed up again at the same time the next week, and still didn't see anyone. At that point she told me that orientation had not been rescheduled to a certain date, it was postponed. I wanted to do this job, so I asked when she thought the orientation could be. She told me on the phone that she only had two more background checks to be processed, and that she thought the next week (this is 3 weeks postponed, if you're keeping track) would be orientation. So I've been strung along for a month thinking that I would be starting a job at some point.
I called her this week on 6/13/22 to ask her if this orientation is ever happening and to let her know that I've been waiting for over a month for this damn job. She responded by saying that she would not do an orientation for "one or two people" and that even if the week long orientation was completed, there wouldn't be any kids placed in their housing, hence no work for me to do. This is mindblowing to me because she failed to mention this at literally any other point in this whole process. I have waited a month for a job I was excited to do, stopped interviewing and applying for other jobs, and prepared myself for something that ultimately isn't going to happen. I am not applying for a side hobby, it's a JOB. I need to work and earn a living, which they apparently don't understand? This whole situation has been a huge mess. I need a refund for the $61 that they made ME pay. I am also considering suing for damages because you wasted over a month of my time where I could have been working and not struggling to survive.
The website links to one person's phone number, which I believe belongs to Katrice. There is no other contact info listed besides an email, which should have been a red flag in hindsight. Katrice has not even apologized to me for the negligent communication she's displayed, and continues to gaslight me, saying that she told me all of this, when it was clearly never communicated. I also called her to try to resolve this without having to bring it to the internet, but she told me to have a nice day and hung up. I have very little faith that this organization is willing to help anyone in need, when they won't even treat their employees with basic respect. If you are looking to partner with Gateway, consider their morals and maybe find another program that better suits what you represent.
And Katrice, reach out to me so I can pick up a check or cash. I will hold you legally responsible if I have to. Thanks!