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WINTERSVILLE -- A free private showing of the documentary "All The Lonely People" welcomes a public presence when it is presented June 20 at St. Florian Event Center in Wintersville.
The showing of "a self-portrait of people ending their own loneliness" is an event being hosted and organized by Adult Protective Services from the Jefferson County Department of Job and Family Services.
Doors open at 4:30 p.m. for vendor table browsing with the event starting at 6 p.m. There will be vendors and informational booths, drawing baskets and hors d'eouvres provided.
The vendors before the program will be different community agencies throughout Jefferson County who will have information about the services they provide.
Those planning to attend should RSVP by Monday by calling (740) 282-0961 and asking for either extension 1218 or 1204.
"The event is to bring awareness to the community about Adult Protective Services, who we are, what we do and how we can help our growing senior population in the community," explained Marie Holt of Adult Protective Services. "The event is targeting loneliness and isolation regarding seniors and how it affects them and ways to combat this growing issue.
"With our county being a rural community, a lot of our seniors are isolated and lonely, which has only increased these past two years from the pandemic," Holt said, pointing out that even if people are only coming for the documentary, they will still need to RSVP.
The event will include appetizers and desserts from A Touch of Elegance Bakery, drawings, viewing the 70-minute documentary and a brief question-and-answer period afterward.
"The goal of this outreach event is to bring awareness to elder abuse and some of the difficulties seniors face in a rural community," Holt said.
"We also would like to educate the community on what Adult Protective Services is, how to get a hold of us and how we can help," she added.
"All The Lonely People" is touted as "a film and discussion with people developing resilience over loneliness and experts discussing solutions to isolation" and will have on hand its director, Stu Maddux, and its producer, Joseph Applebaum.
Maddux is an award-winning producer and director of non-fiction media with international credits including Pluto TV, Here TV, PBS, Showtime, TLC, VH1, Spike, Logo, CMT and BBC. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Atlantic, VICE and NPR's "Morning Edition" and exhibited at film festivals around the world.
His honors include seven regional Emmy Awards, as well as awards from film festivals on five continents.
Maddux is an outspoken activist for the LGBTQ aging and LGBTQ history movements. He has spoken at national conferences including the Out & Equal, Creating Change, the American Psychological Association and the American Society on Aging. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism.
Applebaum is a television broadcast producer and documentary filmmaker with more than 30 years of experience in the national entertainment industry covering all formats of nonfiction media.
Clients have included NBC, CBS and FOX networks; Disney; Merv Griffin Entertainment; Comedy Central; MTV; LOGO; BET Entertainment; FX Network; Lifetime Entertainment; Pluto TV; and Here TV as well as many independent production companies.
He is an outspoken activist for the environment and animal welfare and is engaged in the local community to promote change, according to promotional material provided.
Since 2010 he has focused on creating independent documentary films to promote social awareness and change through their production company, the Clowder Group. Applebaum is a graduate of the University of Southern California and a native of Mill Valley, Calif.
Holt explained that June 15 is World Elder Abuse awareness Day.
"Adult Protective Services in Jefferson County dedicates the entire month of June doing different outreach programs and training to community agencies about elder abuse and how to report it," Holt commented.
"We usually pick a topic to hit on based on the needs of the community and what is affecting our seniors the most each year," she added.