Respite Counselor - 1st Shift
Listed compensation
$21.21-$22.27/hr
The week · per this posting · Monday – FridayWeekdays only
Ask the employer about the work setting, call expectations and time off.
Job Description
Riverside Community Care
Love what you do!
Respite Counselor - 1st Shift
In this exciting role, the Respite Counselor will work as part of a team in this acute care residence.
The Respite Counselor will provide guidance, education, supervision, and direct supports to allow consumers to maintain their physical and emotional health, live safely in the community and develop the skills necessary to return to independent living. Interactions between staff and consumers will be guided by an appreciation for those being served as unique individuals and adults, with the expectation and goal of crisis or situational stabilization.
The Respite programs provide both short and long-term care for persons experiencing mental health, substance use disorder, and co-occurring disorders who might otherwise require treatment in an inpatient setting and would benefit from structured stabilization, support, care coordination, and treatment planning.
Schedule: Full Time, 40 hours
- Monday - Friday: 8am to 4pm
Pay Rate
- $21.21/hour High School Diploma
- $22.27/hour with a Bachelor’s Degree
Why You'll Love Riverside
We make a true difference in people’s lives through rewarding work. Most of our jobs come with great benefits – including healthcare, numerous professional development opportunities, and generous time off - all in a respectful and inclusive environment, perhaps why Riverside was named a Boston Globe Top Workplace and a best-in-state employer by Forbes.
Benefits Include
- Comprehensive, high-quality health, dental, and vision insurance options
- Flexible Spending Accounts – both medical and dependent care
- Eleven paid holidays
- Separate accruals for vacation (increases with tenure), personal, and sick time
- Tax-deferred 403(b) retirement savings plan with employer match
- Employee Assistance Plan / Travel Assistance Plan
- Employee bonus for referrals resulting in hiring
- Discounts to movie theaters, sporting, and entertainment events
- Employee YMCA discount: 10% off a YMCA monthly membership and 50% off the joiner’s fee
Learn More About Our Benefits and Culture
Our Benefits
Our Culture
Hear what employees think about working for Riverside!
Key Responsibilities
The Respite Counselor provides direct support, guidance, and supervision to consumers in an acute care residence to help them maintain health and safety. They also facilitate crisis stabilization and assist individuals in developing skills necessary for independent living.
Requirements
Candidates must possess at least a High School Diploma, with a higher pay rate offered for those holding a Bachelor’s Degree. The role requires the ability to work in a structured, team-based environment focused on mental health and substance use recovery.
Key Skills
Behavioral Health — Counselor Career Context
Of the 50 active Behavioral Health listings this role was benchmarked against, 50% are remote, 26% have no call, 64% require no weekends.
The cost-of-living index for Massachusetts is 105.8 (US average = 100; BEA Regional Price Parities (2024)), so the posted ~$45k midpoint carries the purchasing power of roughly $43k in an average-cost state. 63.2% of Massachusetts clinicians report burnout symptoms in WeekdayDoc's Burnout Index (2026-01 data).
Behavioral Health pay on WeekdayDoc is up 9.7% vs. the prior quarter (through Sep 2026).
Work-Life Balance Analysis
WeekdayDoc's proprietary algorithm rates Respite Counselor - 1st Shift at Riverside Community Care a 8.0 out of 10 for work-life balance — classified as excellent. This places the position in the top 5% in Behavioral Health (Counseling) — ranked against 346 active Behavioral Health (Counseling) listings on WeekdayDoc. Contributing factors include no weekend requirements, no night shifts.
Top Counselor Jobs
38 matches · ranked by paySalary Distribution38 jobs · 25 employers
Annual compensation range
Benefits & Perks35 jobs · 25 employers
Share of similar jobs offering each benefit
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$83k-$123kWork-life snapshot
Listing-based score, 0–10, across 346 comparable listings. Shaded area = the share scoring below this one.
- No weekends
- No nights
Living in Norwood
- Typical 3-bedroom home value
- $735k
- Typical market rent
- $2,491/mo
- Residents’ average commute
- 30 min
- Metro price indexU.S. average = 100
- 108.3
- State income tax
- Up to 5%
Sources & methodology
Sources: Zillow home values (Aug 2026), Zillow market rents (Aug 2026), U.S. Census ACS 2024 five-year.
BEA 2024 · Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro prices. Housing figures are city-level.
City-level figures. Not a cost-of-living guarantee.