Venice

The Activity Centers at Senior Friendship Centers are energetic, light-filled spaces where seniors can take classes, exercise, play cards, socialize, create art, listen to live music, learn a new language, and learn about healthy aging. The Center creates community in every sense of the word – by providing a comfortable place to gather, dance to live music, have coffee with friends, or enjoy a healthy lunch. Members can also find legal and tax assistance, fraud prevention.

Adult Day Care

We offer a licensed day program featuring supervised, engaging activities for seniors with cognitive or medical issues. It’s an inviting place to socialize with others, sharpen cognitive skills, reduce frustration, enjoy healthy meals, and feel valued.

Caregiver Resources and Support

The Caregiver Resource Center offers a wealth of resources for caregivers. We can help you decide the best plan for you and your family and offer tools to support you on your caregiving journey. We also have support groups where you can ask questions, voice concerns and get new ideas from others.

The Friendship Center for Aging Studies offers educational programs and shares tools and resources to help older adults live longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives. A wide variety of courses are offered throughout the year. CFAS is also an accredited continuing educational program of Senior Friendship Centers. CE courses are offered to licensed mental and allied health professionals practicing in the fields of Social Work Mental Health Counseling and Marriage and Family Therapy.

The Emergency Home Energy Assistance for the Elderly Program (EHEAP) assists low-income households, with at least one person age 60 and older, when the households are experiencing a home energy emergency. Due to COVID-19 funding, eligible households may receive assistance on a monthly basis provided the qualifications for the program are met for a maximum benefit of $5,000. Call (941) 584-0065 for more information.

Isolation is a challenge older adults often deal with when they choose to age in place. Especially if a spouse or partner passes away, survivors sometimes fail to thrive on their own without intervention. We provide these programs:

• Telephone Reassurance – Volunteers will call once or twice a week to check on their clients and engage them in conversation.
• Friendly Visitor Program – Volunteers are matched with a senior who requests a friend to come and chat, help with errands, play games or just enjoy companionship.
• Supportive Intervention Programs – Our Friendship at Home coordinators can help clients with limited mobility access community resources to meet their needs.

We can help arrange for the most appropriate care for your older relative, family and you. Knowledge, experience, respect and compassion ensure that you and your loved one feel comfortable with the decisions made and the quality of care provided. Our trained case managers provide assessment of needs, in-home services, follow-up visits and monitoring of care. Call the Elder Helpline at (866) 413-5337.

Enjoy a free meal in a friendly social setting for the 60+ crowd at our Venice Friendship Café, Monday-Friday from 12:30-1:00 pm. We can also arrange for the delivery of free nutritious meals to isolated seniors through our Friendship Home Delivered Meals program.

Learn More at Nutrition and Dining

SFC offers help with accessing Federal assistance programs such as Medicaid and Food Stamps, free one-time legal consultation with an attorney, and tax preparation through a partnership with AARP. We are proud to participate in SHINE, a program where specially trained volunteers provide Medicare counseling by appointment (through the Florida Department of Elder Affairs and Area Agency on Aging for Southwest Florida).

The Venice Friendship Center sits in a shady park-like campus right on the Intracoastal Waterway. While the facility is busy during the weekday, it is available for event rentals on the weekend and in the evening, provided set-up is minimal. It is a beautiful location for your party, celebration of life, bar or bat mitzvah, corporate event, nonprofit event, fundraiser, reception or wedding. For more information, call (941) 556-3265.

Our success is built on a network of volunteers who share our belief in the value of “people helping people.” Volunteers are greeters, teachers, physicians, dance instructors, technology experts, musicians, office assistants and more. Our volunteers receive as much as they give.

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