Academy Award-winning actress Goldie Hawn spoke out earlier this month to issue a chilling warning about how the COVID-19 pandemic is hurting America’s children.

Goldie Hawn Warns Pandemic Is Hurting Children

“We can start looking at what we’re putting into schools. We can start looking at how we’re putting preventative social and emotional programs into schools,” Hawn told Fox News.

“We’re dealing right now with a mental illness pandemic,” she added. “Mental illness is something that can actually last; it’s very, very dangerous. If we don’t look at it and know what and how to handle it, then we’re not going to win this battle with kids.”

Hawn also recently penned an op-ed for USA Today in which she argued that trauma from COVID-19 is “hurting a generation of kids” and that “we’ve failed them as a nation.”

The Overboard actress explained that the mind is a “very powerful thing,” and that children are struggling to process the COVID-19 pandemic as it continues.

“Whether it’s masks, whether it’s any of the various things that are going on today in the world, it’s very, very scary,” she said. “I think that what we’ve got to do is start focusing in on our next generation.”

Goldie Hawn’s Non-Profit: MindUP

Hawn has long been an advocate for mental health for kids, and she founded the non-profit MindUP back in 2003 with the goal of helping “children develop the knowledge and tools they need to manage stress, regulate emotions and face the challenges of the 21st century with optimism, resilience and compassion.” 

Childhood aggression, anxiety, depression and suicide are all things that are directly dealt with by MindUP.

“The bottom line is MindUP or any of these programs that are mental health are preventative programs should be in schools, not one day a week, every day — should be part of their classroom, part of their learning,” Hawn stated. “Why do we ask kids to learn and don’t teach them about their brain?”

Related: Goldie Hawn And Kurt Russell Divulge The Secret To Their Nearly 40-Year-Long Relationship

Goldie Hawn Found A Way To Help After 9/11

The Private Benjamin star started her foundation to help children not just survive but thrive in our modern world. In her Founder’s Message, Goldie Hawn speaks about how 9/11 both changed her and inspired her to reach out to America’s youth.

All children in the world are our most precious resource for a happier, healthier tomorrow. They deserve all we can give them to thrive and succeed in this sometimes challenging world. After 9/11, like you, I was shaken to my core, as it seemed the world had changed in an instant. My heart went to our youth, who were already showing signs of silent distress with symptoms of anxiety, depression, aggression and even child suicide. It was unimaginable that our little ones were suffering mental disturbances and being robbed of their joyful childhoods.

Hawn closed her message with the hope that America’s youth can “grow to be happy, healthy, productive adults”. What a wonderful and worthy goal.

It’s clear that Hawn sees this pandemic as a new threat seeking rob our youth of “joyful childhoods”.

The Stakes Have Never Been Higher

Hawn concluded her USA Today op-ed by highlighting just how high the current stakes are when it comes to COVID-19 and our children. 

“We will survive the COVID-19 pandemic, but I’m not sure we can survive an entire generation whose collective trauma sends them hobbling into adulthood. We need more research, more preventative care and more early intervention. And there’s still time,” she wrote. “If we get it right, today’s kids could emerge as the strongest generation America has ever produced.”

God bless Goldie Hawn for using her platform to fight for our children. If only there were more stars in Hollywood like her! 

Read next: Goldie Hawn Reveals Why She Doesn’t Lecture Fans About Politics – ‘I Stay In My Lane’

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