Tenant and family support

Read about a day in the life of the TFST

This is an example of a typical day for the tenant and family support team. Names and some details have been changed.

8am Janet arrives at the house of a Wandsworth family to help them plan their morning pre-school routine. She helps make sure everyone has breakfast and leaves on time. 

9am Caroline takes a woman with disabilities and learning difficulties to her hospital appointment. Caroline waits outside and then accompanies the lady home and helps her apply for a Community Care Grant for a new bed.

10am Fatima receives an email from our customer service — a woman has phoned in because her 84-year-old mother, a Peabody resident, has not answered her phone for three days. Fatima phones the caretaker and then goes to the flat in Southwark. The door is locked and the key is in the lock on the inside. No one answers the door; Fatima calls the police and an ambulance.

They arrive and enter, finding the resident asleep in an armchair. Her phoneline is faulty and she hasn’t heard the banging on the door. Arrangements are made for a hearing test and a phone with a flashing light. The phoneline fault is reported. Peabody allocate a support worker to work with the resident.

11am Simon takes an alcoholic-dependent client to the Jobcentre to sign on for JSA, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. Receiving benefits will prevent the client from being evicted for rent arrears. Simon helps him complete the paperwork and makes a referral to a debt counsellor.

12pm Caroline makes a joint-visit with a social worker to the home of an older tenant with a mobility problem, who has recently had a fall. Caroline notices the living-room light switch is loose so she reports the problem to our customer service.

12.30pm Fatima and a neighbourhood manager attend a meeting at Kensington and Chelsea town hall to discuss services for residents with mental health problems.

1pm Neil visits a couple in Waterloo who have just received a Notice of Seeking Possession. He liaises with Peabody’s Revenues department on their behalf and sets up a rent repayment plan for them.

2pm Janet makes a joint-visit to one of her clients, who is 16, to introduce him to his new mentor. The client has been causing damage, making noise, and using cannabis. Janet spends time with the client's mother to talk about how she could improve her relationship with her son.

3pm Simon goes to Hillingdon to carry out a needs assessment with a young man who has recently been shot in a gang-related incident.

4pm Fatima takes a phone call on the advice line from a tenant who is worried about a neighbour. She makes a referral to one of the team, who will visit and carry out an assessment. She also takes a call from a caretaker who has found a man sleeping rough on his estate.

Neil goes to see the man and finds he has a flat, but there is no gas or electricity. He arranges for a mental health assessment and the man is taken into hospital. Neil then arranges for the flat to be deep-cleaned, for Peabody’s decorating service to paint the flat, and he makes a referral to a furnishing project.

4.30pm Caroline receives a text from a client who has just received a threatening phone call from her ex-husband. Caroline visits the client and they phone the police and then call a domestic violence agency. Caroline also arranges for extra locks to be fitted to the door and for a marker to be put on her phone so the police will respond immediately if she calls 999.

Neil attends a meeting with one of his clients and a drugs counsellor. They agree a detox programme that will fit in with his college hours.

5pm Janet helps a family in Lambeth who are living in an overcrowded flat. They complete a housing application to apply for a transfer to a larger property. She also helps their 18-year-old daughter apply for the New Generation Scheme.

5.30pm Neil returns to the office, writes up his case notes and makes a written report for the Community Safety Team.