The people at Friendship Manor were very friendly and very helpful. The place looked clean to me and the location was very centralized. They have a library, an activity room and their laundry room was coin-operated.

I've been here in Friendship Manor for a while now, and I'm quite comfortable. It's free and open. Of course, COVID virus has curtailed many social activities, but the way the building is laid out, it has a sidewalk all the way around it, and so if people want to go out and exercise, they can do that safely away from crime, away from crowds and the like. We are just west of a shopping center, we are in walking distance of a Kroger grocery store, and there's a hardware store there. There are innumerable banks to choose from there within walking distance. It is on the bus route. There is a kind of shopping bus that comes in every day. Of course, there is a minor cost for that, and they take people out to the Meridian Mall where people can go out shopping for about two and a half hours, and then the bus brings them back. There's plenty of parking, and it's well lit. There are security cameras in the parking lots, not only to protect people, but obviously to protect their cars, too. In terms of accessibility, there are laundry facilities on every floor. There are rules for nonsmoking, and there's a place out back where people can do the smoking if they absolutely have to. There is a barbecue area out back that is used by varied people from time to time, but usually management makes it available. On certain holidays they will have a barbecue for everybody. However, the rent has gone up considerably since I got here. The company that owns this property owns about five other properties that I know at the Greater Lansing area. A year ago, on the high side, they renovated all of the apartments. They put in new appliances, they put in new shelving, and they put in new closet shelving as well. They really have updated the place, and it's just very, very comfortable. Everybody prepares meals on their own, unless of course they have signed up for Meals on Wheels, and Meals on Wheels delivers food every day at about 4:00, and then eating is from 4:30 to 5:30 downstairs in the large room, but it's just a matter of signing up for it. The meals are OK. They're nutritious, but they're not meals that I would prepare on a regular basis for myself. They do a very good job at keeping the place clean, too.

We chose Friendship Manor primarily because it was close to where my mom lived, around the same familiar neighborhood. She really liked that. Also, she has a friend that was living in an apartment there. She seems to be settled in pretty good there now. It is HUD subsidized, so the monthly rent there compared to other places is extremely cheap. It includes everything but her cable TV and her phone. They have a meals on wheels that comes in once a day Monday through Friday so she can get meals during the week. Some of the restaurants and grocery stores drop off food that is available first come first serve to the residents.