Mariska Hargitay's Joyful Second Act

Joyful Heart Founder & President, Mariska Hargitay, recently graced the cover of More Magazine for the second time this November. Check out an excerpt of the article below and click on the image to read the entire story.

It’s true that everything that is important to Hargitay has roots in her role as Detective Olivia Benson. That means her husband, her children and her charity. The Joyful Heart Foundation, which Hargitay started in 2004, provides services for victims of sexual assault or abuse and advocates on their behalf.

Hargitay doesn't think victims reach out just because they confuse her with her character. She believes they either know or sense that she has suffered trauma herself. ..."Trauma is trauma," Hargitay says. "And trauma doesn't really go away unless you work at it. What I kept hearing in letters from victims, from people disclosing their pain, was not dissimilar to my own feelings. A violent crime was perpetrated on them, and something was stolen from them, and they have a piece of themselves missing. I could relate to that." The accomplishments of Hargitay's Joyful Heart Foundation have been significant. It has lobbied state and local governments to test the medical evidence in more than 200,000 rape kits currently backlogged in the United States. And it has paid for more than 5,000 sexual assault and abuse survivors to participate in healing retreats, including ocean experiences in Hawai‘i.

Read the article on the MORE Magazine website

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