Tom and Ruth moved to one of our Extra Care scheme in January 2022

The main reason for their move was to be closer to their eldest son as the couple need support after Ruth was diagnosed with Multiple System Atrophy (MSA). Ruth was diagnosed after a series of unexplained falls, not long before the pair decided to take the plunge and move to somewhere with care if they need it.

. Tom began to care for her soon after her diagnosis, he said: “We paid for an external company to be on call to support me if she fell, but our children kept reminding me that I wouldn’t be able to keep caring for her forever as we’re both in our 80s.”

“My daughter-in-law told me about Box Tree Court and Housing 21, and that at the time it hadn’t been open for very long. They organised for Ruth and I to visit and we immediately fell in love with the apartments and the communal aspects, and we immediately started the purchase process”

Housing 21’s Extra Care is there at the scheme for residents when they need it and to begin with Tom and Ruth didn’t need the care option.  Since then, Ruth has lost the ability to move the lower part of her legs and is wheelchair bound.

They said: “For the first 12 months we didn’t have care, but it was peace of mind for when we did need it. My son took it upon himself much to my annoyance, to organise care when lifting Ruth got too much for me and have been receiving care here ever since.”

“When we spoke to the Housing Manager, she said it’s independent living with Extra Care if and when you need it, and we thought that suits us down to the ground. With Ruth’s diagnosis they said she would deteriorate for12 months and may lose total use of her legs, so we didn’t know what to expect and it was great to have support throughout that time.”

“Not only do we have people on call to help us, if we ever need someone, our family are just up the road and can easily pop down.”

They used the shared ownership option Housing 21 offers to part buy 75 percent of their property and Housing 21 owns the other 25percent, Tom said: “After working in property, investing this seemed like the best option for us to invest some of the money from our previous home.”

Since moving in, Tom has helped set up and chair the residents’ association at the scheme to support residents to communicate with management from his volunteer work and previous employment he had lots of experience in bringing things together and managing situations.

Tom is also part of the Resident Digital Inclusivity Group striving to take proactive steps towards bridging the digital divide by empowering Housing 21 residents with the knowledge and tools needed to fully participate in today's digital society, if they so choose.

More recently the group has helped Housing 21 with its new website. He said: “The Digital Inclusivity Group is great and gives residents a voice on Housing 21 projects. It’s great for things like the website from somebody who is going to be using the site and can provide a resident perspective with lived experience.”

Tom’s previous career in investing and housing has given him the tools at the scheme to support other residents. He said: “There is only so much reading you can do when you’re retired so I was happy that the scheme has activities to get involved with, different people to speak to and engagement groups I could get involved with to keep making a difference.

On 1 November 2024 Tom was awarded the British Empire Medal at Bowle Cliff Hall, Bramham, near Wetherby for his 20 years of volunteer work in the Wakefield area, from driving minibuses to accountancy he has continued to support numerous charities over the year. He said: “I opened a letter from the cabinet office and thought it was a scam. It said I had been nominated for the British Empire Medal for services to the community in Wakefield for my years of charity work.

“My younger son told me he knew about it as I used to run the local choir who came to sing at Box Tree Court a couple of years ago. The music director asked if they could nominate me for the medal for everything I had done and whether I would be annoyed. My son said no, he would be over the moon, so they nominated me for it, collected the references and two years later, here we are.”

Not only is 2024 a big year for Housing 21 celebrating 60 years as a housing association, but Tom and Ruth are also celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary. They combined their celebrations with Housing 21’s 60th celebration summer parties. They said: “We got married locally in Wakefield on the 29 August 1964 with quite a big wedding filled with family and friends. We met when we both worked for West Riding County Council and the rest is history.”