Friedman Place is much more than just a home. Our building, located on Chicago’s northwest side is designed specifically to accommodate people who are blind with special lighting, flooring changes, handrails and “talking” elevators.

The building contains more than 75 one-bedroom or studio apartments along with a clean, welcoming place to live, residents receive meals, housekeeping, maintenance assistance, and money management.

These services are provided by an eager staff that consists of nurses, social workers, certified nursing assistants, activity staff, and others, even volunteers. All staff are specially trained to work with adults with visual impairments and respond respectfully to their needs.

Make Our Place Your Home – Apply Today!

We encourage prospective residents and family members and friends to visit Friedman Place. Tours are available to anyone at any time, whether or not they have completed an application or begun the assessments. Contact us to schedule a personal visit or for more information.

OUR APPLICATION PROCESS:

1.

Applicant/representative fills out application and speaks to our staff. Applications are free.

2.

Friedman Place refers applicant to State of Illinois representative to assess functioning at home. Sometimes there are two assessments.

Timeline: 1-4 weeks

3.

Applicant visits Friedman Place for an interview by a social worker and a nurse. This is usually completed in 1-2 visits. Applicant medical and other records are ordered as necessary.

4.

If applicant is accepted, they’re placed on the wait list until an apartment is available.

Our Apartments

Apartment - architectural drawing layout
Apartment - toilet
Apartment - living space
Apartment - shower
Apartment - bathroom
Apartment - architectural drawing layout
Friedman Place building
Apartment - living room
Apartment - layout
  • Most apartments are studios with some minor variation in size, most are 300 square feet, including a 16’ x12’ main room, kitchenette, and closets
  • Fully handicapped-accessible, private baths, including roll-in showers and grab bars
  • One-bedroom apartments are generally reserved for couples and include an additional full-size bedroom and a larger kitchen area
  • Emergency pendant (emergency pull cord) in the bathroom and another portable one for 24 hour emergency assistance
  • Residents control their own heat and air conditioning
  • Kitchenette with microwave and small refrigerator (included)
  • Wall-to-wall carpeting
  • Active phone line, cable tv, and wireless internet
  • Residents are encouraged to bring their own furnishings. Typically, Friedman Place does not provide furniture, but, when needed by a new resident we are often able to provide the basics.

Common Spaces

Common Area - dining
Common Area
Common Area - tables and chairs
Friedman Place building
Common Area - lounge
Common Area - Hallway
Common Area - outdoor space
Common Area - outdoor space
Common Area
Common Area - sun patio
Common Area - conference room
Common Area - chairs in waiting room
Common Area - outdoor space
Common Area game room
  • Activity rooms for events and socializing are available on each floor – some have TVs, pianos and a vending machine, they all have Amazon Echo devices with Alexa, for information and entertainment
  • Two Exercise rooms with treadmills, health riders and weights
  • Large communal dining room, residents may also bring their meals back to their apartments and “to-go” meals are available for when they plan to be out of the building
  • Outdoor courtyard with a fountain and rooftop terraces
  • Computer Lab, with free high-speed internet and a wide range of adaptive technologies specially designed for people who are blind or visually impaired. Instructors are available!
  • Laundry rooms (not coin–operated)

Supportive Living

Click the sections below to expand each one and learn more about the many supportive living services we have at Friedman Place.

Medical Care team

  • Available licensed practical and registered nurses
  • Medication administration and management
  • Assessments and service plans
  • Coordination with the pharmacy (medications are usually ordered by the nurses and delivered to the building) so residents never have to worry about getting their medications.
  • Health monitoring & education
  • Coordinating medical appointments and arranging transportation as available
  • Serving as key contacts for our in-house podiatrist, psychiatrist, optometrist, and dentist.
  • Available Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs)
  • Assistance with personal care, including bathing, dressing, grooming, laundry, etc.
  • Reminders to take medications
  • Light housekeeping
  • Laundry
  • Socialization
  • General support and monitoring
Social Worker with resident

  • Available Licensed Social Workers, Licensed Clinical Social Workers, and Social Work Interns
  • A wide range of case management services, including obtaining and maintaining public entitlements, finding social/recreational/educational, vocational resources in the community, etc.
  • Individual and group basic counseling, not psychotherapy
  • Managing the admission process from responding to inquiries, providing tours, completing assessments, etc.
Resident weaving

  • The Activities Department provides a range of activities both within and outside of the building
  • In-house activities like exercise classes, music events, meditation, arts & crafts, crosswords, reading of the newspaper, poetry, computer training, adaptive technology, etc.
  • All-inclusive trips outside the building. Past trips have included adaptive sailing lessons, Chicago-area tours, museums, movie theater, adaptive bowling, local festivals, Chicago Park District events, concerts, sporting events, etc.
  • Managing the “independent outing” activities which allow residents to go on activities outside the building on their own, with $25 of the cost paid by the agency
  • Weaving activities
  • Coordination of Braille and large-print menus and activity calendars and the phone “activities hotline”
Dining team member

  • The kitchen serves three meals per day plus an evening snack.
  • For lunch and dinner there is always a “Healthy Choice” option and a “Special Entrée”, and there is also an extensive menu of sandwiches, salads, etc. that are always available
  • Most meals are eaten in the main dining room but residents are welcome to bring them back to their own apartments and to get “to-go” meals when they are planning to be out of the building.
  • In the 2017 Resident Satisfaction survey, 88% of the residents said that the quality of meals here is “good or very good” and 87% said “I agree or strongly agree that the servers are courteous, informative, and responsive to requests for assistance”.
  • Housekeepers and maintenance staff work very closely with one another.
  • Weekly housekeeping of each resident’s apartment.
  • General maintenance and repairs.
Residents gathered for community learning

  • The David Herman Learning Center (DHLC) is based at Friedman Place but its activities extend to multiple locations, and formats, both inside and outside of the Agency.
  • Purposes are to empower residents and others who are blind or visually impaired to develop their learning and technology skills to their greatest desire and capacity and provide learning opportunities to increase engagement with the world and decrease feelings of isolation among residents.
  • Areas of focus include technology and adaptive Devices, education and the therapeutic arts; and entrepreneurial and vocational accomplishments.