Helping kids is giving Goldie Hawn purpose

WASHINGTON - These days, Goldie Hawn is more interested in helping children than making movies.

Hawn hasn’t released a film since "The Banger Sisters" in 2002. Instead, she’s formed the Hawn Foundation, which helps kids learn how to manage their emotions and relieve stress.

"When kids are stressed and when they’re fearful and when they’re angry and when they have uncertainty, sadness and sorrow, they have no tools for how to manage these things and we’re giving them that," Hawn says.

Hawn says kids who can control their stress and emotions do better in school and are less likely to have suicidal thoughts.

About 1,000 teachers have been trained to teach the program that was developed by the foundation with help from neuroscientists, educators and researchers, Hawn says. About 12,000 students are taking part in schools across the country.

"We want to fix our schools," she says. "That’s great, but we have to fix our kids."

The 63-year-old Hawn says she never saw herself acting until she "croaked," and she’s reinvented her life to give it more purpose. A life with purpose "is a happy life," she says.

Hawn was recently in Washington to pick up an award for her work from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.