The warmth meets you in the living room of the Thomashuis in Ruinerwold. Not only because the thermostat is at a fine temperature, but also because all residents of the 24-hour healthcare institution cheerfully wave you or come and shake hands.
One of those residents is the 52-year-old Frank Besselink. Full of wonder, he looks at a video about a special table. If it is up to him and the eight other residents, it will be what Besselink looks at soon in the living room of the house.
While a number of employees together with what residents are making lunch and covers the table, Besselink continues to be concentrated to the Scouren screen. What exactly does it look at? “Yes, it’s a table. And there is a sort of projector above. You can do games on it,” he explains.
It is about the magic table, a care invention from Dutch soil, intended for people with intellectual disabilities, among others. “But yes,” Besselink sighs, “there is a price tag on it.”
The Thomashuis in Ruinerwold is one of the 119 Thomashuizen in the Netherlands. The houses are known for small-scale 24-hour care for people with disabilities. Thirty -year -old Miriam ten Have and her husband Stephan have been running the house in the Perendorp since 2021.
“We both come from the care for the disabled and wanted to start something for ourselves. We fell in love with the Thomashuis concept,” says Ten Have. “A maximum of nine residents live in a house. And as the owner you live in the building itself, so we have small lines with the residents.”
View here why the Thomashuis in Ruinerwold would like a magic table: (text continues under video)