Calling Home: Collaboration to Protect the Elderly

Hosted by Rachel Songer, the documentary presents a comprehensive treatment by experts in which the audience learns how to recognize, prevent, and respond to suspected elder abuse. The “care continuum,” nutrition, hydration, exercise, family values, identity theft, fraud, the importance of staying connected and planning for the inevitability of aging are examined in detail.  The drama is woven throughout the documentary and stars Elinor Donahue  (Father Knows Best, Andy Griffith & Pretty Woman) and Gro Bondevik (American Blues Theater). It offers the touching perspectives of a mother and her adult daughter who’ve been estranged, but must now reconcile their relationship within the context of the mother’s past suffering at the hands of her own son. In this memorable production, the audience gets a poignant look and feel for the dynamics and devastation of elder abuse.  Our goal is prevention and a measurable reduction in the frequency of occurrence and the attendant human suffering. Re-mastered in 2013, the original won Best Documentary and Best Film Produced in San Joaquin County at the Delta Film Festival, 2004. Complimented with a teacher’s guide.