Former Swanley mayor volunteers at Birchwood Heights care home to give back for beloved wife’s care

Former Swanley mayor volunteers at Birchwood Heights to ‘give back’ for beloved wife’s care

Former mayor of Swanley, Barrie Wigg, says volunteering at his wife’s care home is his way of giving back for the care she receives as she lives with dementia.

This Volunteers’ Week (June 3-9), 86-year-old Barrie is celebrating the power of volunteering in helping him deal with the changes in his beloved wife.

Barbara Wigg, aged 85, is better known as Babs and has been a resident at Birchwood Heights care home on Hilda May Avenue for the past two years.

“I enjoy working in the garden there,” he says.  “Babs loves daffodils, and I must have planted close to 1,000 bulbs to make it beautiful for her, and the other residents.  I get involved in running quizzes for the residents and I’m a member of a choir and we come in and perform for them.

“It’s my payback as the staff look after Babs so well and they always go above and beyond for her and the rest of the residents.”

The pair met at college when they were training to be teachers and have both served terms as mayor of Swanley; Babs in 2000 and Barrie in 2005.  Babs was diagnosed with dementia in 2014 and when Barrie was no longer able to care for her at home, she moved just a short walk away, into Birchwood Heights.

The home offers residential, nursing, memory and respite care for up to 77 people and Barrie is there most days, spending time with his wife of almost 63 years, and helping out where he can.

Registered general manager, Harry Garston, says Barrie adds a huge amount to the home as a volunteer.

“The involvement of family members like Barrie really adds to daily life here.  It tells us that they really feel like this is ‘home’ when they want to help in the garden, entertain the residents or just sit and chat over a cup of tea.

“Plus, it allows them to spend time with or near their loved one and helps them to manage that absence when they go home.”

Barrie plays tennis twice a week and has a full social life, but he says volunteering is very rewarding and it makes him feel closer to Babs.

“I miss Babs very much,” he says.  “I know she’s not far away but it’s not the same at home without her.  I get a lot of pleasure being at Birchwood Heights, getting to know the residents and talking to people who come in.  I feel so positive about the place, and it’s given me so much.”

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