Welcome to Friends House Independent Living!

Four clusters of one and two-bedroom apartments and a few multi-bedroom houses make up the Independent Living community at Friends House. All are one-story units. Each of the four clusters has a Commons area with a fully equipped kitchen, dining area with multiple tables, a large living room, and a laundry room. Meetings and gatherings are organized regularly in the Commons areas and residents also make use of the Commons for reading, working on a jigsaw puzzle, watching TV, using a computer, or hosting family parties and dinners. There is a salad bar for lunch with soup and daily entree, and a dining room for the evening meal with sit-down service five days per week. Residents may purchase meals at a modest cost.

The Apartments

The 64 apartments are designed for simple, comfortable living for single, married, or partnered individuals. Each has a living area, an efficiency kitchen, a bathroom, and one or two bedrooms. There is a small patio and garden in front of each apartment.

Some apartments have garden areas in the back, and a second exit. Residents can choose to plant and maintain their garden area or have Friends House care for low maintenance planting.

Apartments are air-conditioned and weekly housekeeping, maintenance, and emergency call assistance are included in the monthly fee. Overnight visitors may be accommodated in one of three guest rooms for a small fee. Residents may keep friendly pets in accord with our Pet Policy. Dog walking is a popular activity and cats can be found napping in sunny spots. Most apartments have an uncovered designated parking place for a vehicle. Ten apartments have carport parking.

The Houses

Residents who wish more spacious accommodations may choose to live in one of the houses, which are on a residential street and connected to the campus by short walkways. Two of the houses have three bedrooms, two baths, a full kitchen, laundry facilities, and garage parking. One house has two bedrooms in addition to the amenities listed above. House residents have the same services, benefits and responsibilities as apartment residents.

Life as Independent Living Residents

Residents may choose to participate as much or as little as they wish in Friends House activities. The residents have developed many special interest groups including: book reviews, poetry, art, singing, food interest, games, walking, Chi Gung and Tai Chi, peace-and-justice, and public policy. One committee of residents selects a weekly movie, and another arranges art exhibitions. Several residents keep the library of over 5500 cataloged volumes accessible. Other residents volunteer in community organizations; still others participate in the many volunteer opportunities at Friends House.

For those residents who wish to have vegetable gardens, some plots are available in the community garden. Over 100 fruit bearing trees and vines are located throughout the campus. Residents enjoy this bounty with their neighbors. They also enjoy the beauty of over 100 rose bushes.

A Resident Services Coordinator assists residents when they enter Friends House and helps to arrange for services such as in-home assistance, transportation, and meals as necessary.

The residents have formed an association for community and self-governing purposes. The association, meeting monthly and with elected officers, acts on recommendations brought by the (Friends) House Council, which is a smaller elected resident group. The association has many committees, including Program and Buildings & Grounds. The House Council deliberates on issues important to resident welfare and selects the agenda for the association meetings. These groups invite the Executive Director to their meetings as part of their effort to stay informed on relevant issues for Friends House. Two residents, with equal rights to other members, are elected by the association to serve on the governing board of Friends House. Other residents volunteer and are selected by the board to serve on each of the ten governing committees of Friends House.

New residents are warmly welcomed and settle into an informal lifestyle. Most are relieved to leave behind home maintenance, focusing their time and energy on interests and community.