Villa of Hope increases minimum wage to $15/hour

Christina Gullo, President/CEO of Villa of Hope, hosted a press conference on June 22, 2021, discussing the details of Villa of Hope’s new policy of a $15/hour minimum wage and its impact on employees and the community.

Villa of Hope is proud to introduce its new hourly minimum wage to $15/hr. effective June 28, 2021 in order to reflect pay equity in the job market and to attract and retain the best front-line workers for the people we serve.

President and CEO, Christina Gullo, with Chief HR and Diversity Officer, Wynndy Turner, at Villa of Hope

President & CEO, Christina Gullo states, “We are emerging from one of the most disruptive times in our country’s recent history. Later this year we will be opening Rochester’s first community based detox center – which will also be the first to have beds available for adolescents in addition to adults. The stress and anxiety throughout COVID has put a demand on our services and we need to remain strong and ready to answer that call for our community. And it is the same community whose support is making this possible.”

Significant numbers showing the impact of this initiative:

• 370 employees currently employed by villa of hope
• 69 families will be impacted by this increase, nearly 20% of our team members
• $158,000 is the cost of increasing employees to $15/hr. It is also the cost of raising wages for managers of these employees to reach pay equity for their added experience, education and responsibility for supervising $15/hr wage staff.
• $318,000 is the total cost for Villa of Hope to fund this pay equity initiative.

Finding funding for initiatives like this is often a barrier as there are pre-determined rates for services and unfunded mandates that limit our ability to invest in the future of our employees and programs. “Villa of Hope has not received increased rates for our services or special grants to cover the cost of these wage increases. We are working with our legislators and advocating with New York State and our funding partners to help find dollars for these critical increases. Until then we are dependent on and grateful for our donors and community supporters to make this happen,” says Gullo.

Wynndy Turner, Chief Human Resources and Diversity Officer states, “This has been a true journey to get to this point. Driven by our understanding of the value of the work our 370 employees do, the need for pay equity in our community and within the Villa, and the rapidly increasing demand for mental health and substance use services, we knew this could wait no longer.”

For more information on supporting the Villa of Hope, the new minimum wage or the new detox center, please reach out to Gerianne Puskas, Chief Advancement Officer, Villa of Hope at 585-683-1999.