Friendship Center's Adult Day Program offers a warm community space where older and dependent adults experiencing memory challenges can find social connection, companionship, and joy—essential elements often overlooked in this chapter of their lives. This program includes:
Supervised and engaging activities designed to maintain physical, emotional, cognitive and social functioning.
Participation in community programs and events, such as enrollment in Santa Barbara City ... Read More
Friendship Center's Adult Day Program offers a warm community space where older and dependent adults experiencing memory challenges can find social connection, companionship, and joy—essential elements often overlooked in this chapter of their lives. This program includes:
Supervised and engaging activities designed to maintain physical, emotional, cognitive and social functioning.
Participation in community programs and events, such as enrollment in Santa Barbara City College's Vitality Program, Cycling Without Age, Adventuresome Aging Excursion Program and more.
Personal care support: assistance in the bathroom, supervision while transferring or ambulating,
Nutritious breakfasts, four-course hot lunches and a snack provided daily.
All activities are designed around our participants' unique preferences and needs, enabling them to spend their golden years doing whatever it is that makes them happiest!
About Adult Day Programs: Adult Day Programs are an excellent yet rare resource for aging adults, offering a safe, positive, caring alternative to nursing home care for those who do not need 24-hour skilled nursing. Day Programs are designed to help people stay cognitively and physically active, reduce isolation, improve their health, and prevent the decline of their abilities. Friendship Center is a non-medical model of care, unlike Adult Day Health Services/ Community Based Adult Services facilities.
Connections is a staff- and volunteer-facilitated social group for adults and seniors experiencing mild cognitive impairment or age-related cognitive changes. Participants enjoy guest speakers, brain games, light exercise, and engaging conversations, all with breakfast and a hot lunch. In 2025, we launched Pathways, a mid-level program for individuals who need more support than Connections provides but are not yet ready for the full day program. Pathways offers meaningful, supported engagement in a small-group setting.
A social group for Spanish speaking older adults, Herencia Latina offers culturally and linguistically competent social activities that reflect and celebrate Latino heritage. This group also includes a number of local excursions and guided field trips that explore Santa Barbara history and culture.
Our Family Services department offers expert guidance through both the enrollment process for Friendship Center and the navigation of supportive resources available to caregivers in our community.
Introduced to our scope of services in the summer of 2024, the Dementia Resource Hub aka the “hub” is Santa Barbar’s sole resource space for free information, support, and care navigation for those impacted by dementia. Unlike a "one size fits all" approach, the Hub prioritizes person-centered support with sustainable, community-based strategies. The Hub’s dementia-focused services have four arms: educational opportunities, peer support programs, and care resource navigation.
Carpinteria Healthy Aging Hub
Launched in partnership with the Lynda Fairly Carpinteria Arts Center, the Carpinteria Healthy Aging Hub extends our day program model to South County residents. Meeting on Tuesdays and Fridays, the Hub provides a vibrant, arts-integrated space for older adults experiencing memory loss to engage in social, physical, and creative activities. The program also offers respite for caregivers and access to bilingual dementia resources.
“Friendship Fleet” Transportation Services
In response to a growing need for accessible transportation, Friendship Center now operates its own fleet of vehicles, ensuring members have safe, reliable, and supportive rides to and from the program. Our transportation services reduce reliance on paratransit and allow us to maintain a higher standard of health and safety screening. The service also supports community excursions and field trips that are vital to our members' sense of connection and joy.
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