All The Lonely People Screening and Discussion

The Chautauqua County Office for Aging Services presents a local screening of All the Lonely People, a social-impact film examining the epidemic of loneliness. The in-person screening, which is free and open to the public, will be held on Friday, November 4, 2022 at 3 p.m. at the Robert H. Jackson Center, 305 E. 4^th Ave. in Jamestown, N.Y.   It will include a facilitated Q&A with the film’s producers and local officials, offering a forum for community discussion about ways to develop resilience and implement strategies to combat social isolation.

The event is part of a statewide screening tour organized by the New York State Office for the Aging (NYSOFA), the Association on Aging in New York (AgingNY), and locally by the Chautauqua County Office for Aging Services.

In 2017, the U.S. Surgeon General declared social isolation to be a “global epidemic” – one that has only worsened in the COVID-19 health emergency. According to the AARP Public Policy Institute, social isolation drives $6.7 billion in additional associated Medicare spending per year. The health consequences of loneliness and isolation are equivalent to smoking almost a pack of cigarettes daily. The added stress of feeling alone increases heart disease and even earlier onset of dementia.

All The Lonely People examines this epidemic on a deeply personal level. It follows a handful of people from different walks of life as they overcome social isolation and chronic loneliness, including New York residents Ari Rossen and Tony Westbrook, as well as people like Mary Hill, an 89-year-old caregiver who faces isolation in the rural countryside of England.

To view the program flyer, click here. 

For more information, contact NY Connects Helpline at 716-753-4582.