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Menlo Park’s Little House has changed over the past eight months, becoming a center for seniors to gather, exercise and get the help they need.
“We have activities for people who still have their independence. However, we also put in the effort to make sure you’re keeping your independence as you start to lose it as you age,” said Jared Blitz, director of Little House.
Little House is run by Peninsula Volunteers, Inc. Its mission is to “enable seniors to age in place,” which means it aims to support seniors who may not want to move out of their homes. Little House hosts 3,550 classes and programs annually with many aiming to exercise people physically and mentally.
“Longevity is only really great if your quality of life goes with it. I think fitness is probably the No. 1 thing that you can do to maintain your quality of life and your longevity,” said Blitz. “(Fitness) is not just for cardiovascular health and cancer prevention but one of the things with regular exercise is it helps unclog arteries in your brain, similar to what it does in the heart.”
“You can age gracefully in this facility,” said Erin Widdes, a member of Little House for over three years. “I didn’t think I belonged here. I really didn’t. I thought I was too young, but I’m 80 years old and I’m finally learning to deal with the changes in my life which I refused to do before.”
Little House offers a range of programs including tech classes, discussion groups, fitness programing and personal training, board games, health programing, music classes and concerts. The not-so-little Little House includes a ceramics studio, outdoor patios, several class areas, a stage and a cafeteria.
“We have a really terrific chef here, Hazel. She does an incredible job. At most senior centers, their food is really bland but we have flavor in our food and it’s only $5 for a meal with usually two options every day. Even the staff eats the food here, because it is actually good,” Blitz said.
With its fitness programs, one offering is the Ground Mobility class. “They have this course where the man that runs it teaches you how to get up off the floor. That’s a big deal for old people. If you have anyone old in your life, ask him to get on the floor, and get up. They’re constantly trying to let you grow so you’re not stagnant,” Widdes said.
Another program is the current events group where members meet to discuss local and national news in a respectful manner.
“That group grew from one person to somewhere between 17 and 20 people every week. The discussions are interesting and stimulating,” Widdes said.
“I have a best friend now, her name is Pat and she’s 90 years old. I met her in the current events group, and we are besties now,” Widdes added.
Little House provides a place for social connection, which is especially important as many seniors moved to the area to be closer to relatives.
“I moved here five years ago from Arizona because I have family here. Most of the people in this facility have family here and they weren’t born and raised here. The area is a whole new environment,” Widdes said.
“I want people to feel like they can come here for a lot of things rather than just one thing. I don’t want to be just a place for fitness classes. I want us to fulfill our mission, to provide good enough, interesting enough and relevant enough programming that members can get both mental, physical, psychological and maybe even spiritual needs fulfilled,” Blitz said.
“A really crucial part of Little House is our Ride PVI program. We’re trying to combat loneliness and anytime you lose your ability to drive, you might stay home and it’s gonna be really easy to stay home. If you don’t live within walking distance, chances are your health is going to deteriorate pretty quickly,” Blitz said.
Ride PVI is a program that uses ride-hailing platforms for transportation around areas of San Mateo and Santa Clara counties. Users can book rides through a hotline run by PVI and PVI staff coordinate and monitor the rides. Subsidies are available for some users.
“A lot of our people who come here use Ride PVI to get here — to get here, to get home, to get the doctor, to get to a lot of places so their health doesn’t decline. I think that’s such a crucial piece to it all,” Blitz said.
The service provided 12,750 rides in fiscal year 2024.
While Little House became the first suburban senior center in the United States in 1949, it struggled after the pandemic. Widdes credits Blitz for turning the center around.
“Everything (at Little House) has changed over the last six or seven months,” said Widdes. “I used to also belong to Cañada (College gym). I was coming here just for the current events group but I was able to quit that club even though I live much closer to it because everything that I needed there is right here.”
“I think that with what has happened in the last six months since (Blitz) took over, I would say that this is the best kept secret in Menlo Park before it was not,” Widdes added.
“When I got in here, I think there had been too much turnover for whatever reason, and there really wasn’t a structure in place,” Blitz said. “I’m a big believer that structure drives behavior. The stability that there is when you create that structure, people know what to expect every day, and I think they didn’t have that before,” Blitz added.
“(The reason it has improved is) absolutely because of the management. Jared, I won’t give him too big a head, is extremely talented, organized and respectful. He always smiles and is friendly with everybody,” Widdes said. “But it isn’t just that personality part of him, it’s his ability to change his place. Before, it was very disorganized and they didn’t have as much. He’s brought in so many new programs.”
Widdes said she really started to appreciate Little House after she got injured volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House, a place where families of seriously ill children who are receiving care at a local hospital can stay at little to no cost.
“That’s when the reality came to me that this is the place I belong to, because even when you’re handicapped or have an issue, you’re accommodated. They accommodate you 100% and they’re enthusiastic,” Widdes said.
Blitz has big plans for the facility.
“I’m always told that this is the best kept secret here but I don’t know if that’s a good thing after 76 years. It doesn’t need to be a secret. We still have so much room for capacity to help improve people’s lives. I would like over the next year to be able to get us closer to where we were pre-pandemic. We used to be open until 8 p.m. and I am hoping to bring that back,” Blitz said.
As part of an effort to expand attendance, Blitz reached out to residents at two affordable housing developments run by Peninsula Volunteer Properties, a related nonprofit. Blitz said the developments have a large Russian, Ukrainian and Chinese population. While PVP provides Little House memberships to residents, Blitz said few came to Little House.
“We did a campaign there because I was told, ‘Oh, they don’t like to ever come out here’ and I’m not a believer in that. I believe you need to at least make an effort,” Blitz said.
Blitz said he brought staff that spoke several languages and educational materials to the developments in order to answer questions and encourage people to use Little House.
“We wanted to make sure they knew what was going on and what was available to them with their memberships, they didn’t know and nobody was communicating,” Blitz said.
“They’ve become like the lifeblood of our program — it’s been amazing to watch. So you have a group of people who don’t even necessarily speak English, but they feel comfortable enough to come in and participate and be involved in everything. It makes me feel really good,” Blitz said.
Blitz also wants to put renewed effort into the ceramics studio. “I have a ceramics program — well I wouldn’t call it a program. We have a studio. You can go in there and you can use it. Building it up is going to be a main focal point for me,” Blitz said.
Right outside the studio is a garden area that Blitz said became overgrown and unkept. He started by asking the Silicon Valley Chapter of the Young Men’s Service League to help clean up the area.
“What they did is really amazing. In just a weekend or two, the space completely changed,” Blitz said.
The Silicon Valley Young Men’s Service League helped clean up and take care of Little House’s garden in Menlo Park. Photo by Arden Margulis. 
Young Men Service League poses after cleaning up the Little House garden. Courtesy Peninsula Volunteers Inc. 
The Silicon Valley Young Men’s Service League helped clean up and restore Little House’s garden. Photo by Arden Margulis. 
Young Men Service League renovates the Little House garden. Courtesy Peninsula Volunteers Inc. 
The Silicon Valley Young Men’s Service League helped revive Little House’s garden in Menlo Park. Produce from garden has been used to cook meals at Little House. Photo by Arden Margulis.
Some of the fruits and vegetables the garden grows are used in the kitchen and served to members.
Little House has several membership tiers starting at $20 a month and is located at 800 Middle Ave. in Menlo Park.
Correction: This article was updated to correct inaccuracies regarding the descriptions of some PVI programs, to remove an inaccurate description of the benefits of exercise and to state that the affordable housing developments are run by a separate nonprofit.
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