Friendly Visiting
Our signature Friendly Visiting Program provides lonely older adults, our Forever Friends, with regular visits and other opportunities for social interaction.
Visits can include a simple chat while enjoying a cup of coffee, a critical game of chess, learning how to browse the internet, or sharing your favorite recipes and making a meal together.
Once added to the program, we make a commitment to be a friend for a lifetime to create and foster long-term mutual friendships.
What is a
Forever Friend?
Little Brothers – Friends of the Elderly (LBFE) has a signature Friendly Visiting Program that pairs older adult Forever Friends with visitors to foster friendship and socialization to reduce loneliness and social isolation.
This program is reserved for older adults aged 60 and older with very small social circles who express a desire for regular friendship visits. When LBFE invites an older adult to become a Forever Friend, we accompany them for life through death and foster long-term mutual friendships.
LBFE provides Forever Friends with meaningful in-home visits each month and invites them to small social gatherings to visit with their peers and volunteers.
Visits may include a shared meal, a meaningful chat over a cup of coffee, a museum visit, or a scenic ride. Sometimes it may include an occasional ride to the store or a medical appointment.
LBFE will create a supportive environment for our Forever Friends to thrive as they age by connecting them to skilled community resources and adjusting our interactions to meet their changing needs as they age.
Low-Income Forever Friends experiencing unique and difficult life challenges are eligible to receive assistance through the LBFE Johnson Needs Project Fund to improve their quality of living and well-being.
Because LBFE is committed to becoming a lifetime friend, the older adult goes through an inquiry process that includes one or two in-home friendship visits by LBFE staff to determine their interest and need for social support. This process may take up to two months and many factors are considered before a committee makes a final decision.