Contact: Natalie Usher

Mission Statement: The mission of the St. Francis by the Sea - Friendly Visitor Ministry is to visit the elderly in both facilities and homes in our parish area. The facilities can include assisted living and full-skilled nursing homes in addition to private homes. These visits bring hope, faith, and love to those in need of companionship.

Our volunteers provide socialization, mental stimulation, and prayers to those who are lonely. This ministry has joined the students at St Francis Catholic School to visit facilities and together the students complete an activity with the residents. These visits bring so much joy to the elderly in addition to teaching our students the importance of caring for the aged in our community.

Friendly Visiting Referrals

If you know of a resident who would benefit from a friendly visit, you are encouraged to make a referral to Merideth Johnson in the office or you may contact us through the form below.

Friendly Visitor Volunteers: The time commitment can vary depending on your availability. You establish your level of commitment. It can be as little as an hour once a month or two visits a month, etc.  Volunteers will shadow a team member to a facility to train. You always work in a group.

The committee works closely with the Activities Director at each facility and has establishes an area of need. Volunteers once trained, are matched with a parish area long-term care facility. The activities can include crafts, music, calling bingo numbers, or simply a social porch chat. We try to tap into your talents and take advantage of those talents shining for our elderly.

Volunteer Qualifications: Volunteers must by 21 years or older, be dependable, able to listen and communicate with empathy, sensitive to the needs and concerns of the sick and elderly, able to maintain confidentiality, genuinely interested and enthusiastic about working with older adults, and are willing to share/witness faith, honest. The ideal volunteer is mature, respectful and responsible, sociable, motivated, patient, trustworthy, able to set limits, and comfortable with establishing a relationship with an older person.

Volunteer Requirements: Volunteers visit their assigned resident for a minimum of one hour per week and commit to one year of service. Visitation time and duration are at the volunteer’s discretion.

Safe Environment Requirements:  All volunteers for the Friendly Visiting Ministry must be background screened, driver screened, sign all policies, and take all of the required online classes.  To find out more about the screening process, please click on the button below.