Thaindian News

London, May 11 (IANS) Oscar-award winning actress Goldie Hawn has been honoured with an award for helping raise awareness about mental health issues in US schools.
The “Cactus Flower” star picked up the honour from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Service Administration during a trip to Washington, D.C. May 8, where she was campaigning to help kids with learning difficulties and teenage problems, reports contactmusic.com.

“I think our children are really in trouble…There’s too much suicide, too many kids killing each other. It absolutely brings tears to my eyes,” she said.

Hawn insists schoolyards are nothing like they used to be when she was growing up and education bosses need to revisit the past to solve the problems of the present.

“I think we had much more dream time. I think we didn’t have as much pressure…I was not a great student… I had minor dyslexia, but I never felt the pressures of those kinds of problems; I felt like I was going to be ok,” she said.

“These kids now are so pressured that their stress factors are really great. What’s happening is they don’t know how to deal with their stresses, so it’s coming out in many different ways - drugs, self-medication…I don’t think they have stability… I don’t know why they should; I don’t have it when I look at the news,” she added.

The actress’ Hawn Foundation is trying to create a programme for troubled kids that builds on their “social and emotional learning skills”. The programme can be implemented in schools across America.