A day in the life of the Tenant and Family Support team

The Tenant and Family Support team is here to help. The team offers practical assistance and advice to residents who need extra support to help them keep their tenancies. Their advice line is open Monday to Friday from 1.30pm to 4.30pm – and every call is treated confidentially. Call 020 7021 4491.

If you’d like to know more about what the team can offer, read on for an account of a typical day. We haven’t used real names and the events we’ve described are fictional, but they’re typical of the team’s real-life cases.  

8am Janet arrives at the house of a family in Wandsworth to help them plan their morning pre-school routine. She helps make sure everyone has breakfast and leaves on time. Each member of the family helps with the timetable and it’s put up on the kitchen wall.

9am Caroline takes a lady with disabilities and learning difficulties to her hospital appointment in Waterloo because she’s nervous about going on her own. She waits outside and then accompanies the lady home, where she helps her apply for a Community Care Grant for the new bed she needs.

10am Fatima receives an email from Peabody Direct to say that a lady has phoned in worried about her 84 year old mother who has not answered her phone or been seen for three days. Fatima phones the caretaker and then goes to the flat in Southwark. When she arrives, she sees the door is locked and the key is in the lock on the inside. As no one answers the door, she calls the police and an ambulance. When they enter the flat, they find the lady happily sleeping in an armchair. Her phone line 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 phone line fault is reported. The lady agrees to be allocated a Tenant Advisor, who can assess further support needs.

11am Simon takes an alcoholic client to the Job Centre in Islington so he can sign on for JSA, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit. Receiving benefits will prevent him from being evicted for not paying his rent. Simon helps him sort out his bills and makes a referral to a debt counsellor for him.

12pm Caroline makes a joint visit with a social worker to the home of an elderly tenant with a mobility problem, who has recently had a fall. They discuss his needs so they can put together a care package for him. While she’s there she notices the living room light switch is loose so she contacts Peabody Direct to report the problem and asks for it to be repaired.

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. Her client has been causing damage, making noise on his estate and using cannabis. Janet also spends time with his 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 it’s in a squalid condition and it has no gas or electricity. He arranges for a mental health assessment and the man is taken into hospital. Neil arranges for the flat to be deep cleaned in time for his return. He arranges for Peabody’s decorating service to paint the flat and he also makes a referral to a furnishing project.

For confidential advice call 020 7021 4491

4.30pm Caroline leaves the report she is writing and goes to visit one of her clients in Camberwell. The client has sent her a text saying she has just received a threatening phone call from her ex-husband and she is frightened. Caroline and her client 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.

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