Later this month, a coalition of Wilton organizations will host a community event aimed at confronting some of the most profound questions Wilton residents are asking today: What can we do about loneliness within our community and how can we foster deeper social connections?
The event scheduled for Tuesday, Mar. 31 will feature a screening of the 2023 film Join or Die, an Emmy-nominated documentary that examines the erosion of social connections in the United States and the urgent need to rebuild them.
The screening event is a collaboration among the Wilton Library, Block Party USA, Wilton Social Services, Wilton Public Schools and the Wilton Youth Council.
The film is based on the work of renowned social scientist and Harvard professor Robert Putnam, whose 1995 essay and subsequent book Bowling Alone highlighted the trend toward social isolation, even before the ubiquity of smart phones and social media. In the film, Putnam presents evidence that the continued social isolation trend is impacting personal wellbeing and life expectancy, as well as civic life and even democracy itself.
Wilton resident Vanessa Elias — a certified parent coach, self-described “human connection and mental health activist” and founder of Block Party USA — was instrumental in organizing in the event.
“I was familiar with Putnam’s Bowling Alone work and I had heard about the Join or Die documentary through the work that I do,” Elias explained. “I finally watched it last summer. Its message and accessibility were so powerful — I knew that I needed to bring a screening to my community.”
After approaching the film’s director and producer Rebecca Davis to explore the idea of hosting a screening in Wilton, Elias enlisted other Wilton organizations to support her proposal to the Library — which was then embraced wholeheartedly by Wilton Library Executive Director Caroline Mandler.
“Wilton Library is honored to be hosting such an essential event for our community,” Mandler said. “Join or Die gets straight to the point of how important it is for individuals to find connection with each other.”
“As the cultural and intellectual center of Wilton, the Library provides a safe and welcoming place for connection and for programs such as this,” Mandler continued. “We hope that this film will encourage residents to reflect and think deeply on the individual level, and to consider ways that they can become even more engaged.”
That hope was echoed by Elias, who believes the event could be a catalyst for positive change in Wilton — with greater understanding that “belonging and connection are not a nice-to-have, they are a need-to-have.”
“I am so hopeful that this will act as a spark for the awareness, value, attention, and intention of residents being a part of something not only for our own well-being, but also the well-being of our town, and our country as a whole,” she said.
“And the number of sign-ups we have already has shown that this really resonates with people,” she added.
“We have an amazing community in Wilton. We come together and rally around each other in ways that amaze me,” Elias said. “At the same time, many of us are suffering. We need to know we are not alone.”
The screening of Join or Die will be held Tuesday, March 31 at 7:00 p.m. in the Brubeck Room at Wilton Library. For more information or to register for the event, visit the library’s website.
[Correction: Elias approached the film’s director and producer Rebecca Davis to explore the idea of hosting a screening in Wilton, not Robert Putnam as reported in an earlier version of this story.]