NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Executive director and actress, Julianne Michelle, hosted a cocktail reception on Thursday, September 19, 2024 at the residence of Sophie Sassoon and Malcolm Kanter to benefit Mommy's Heart, a 501(C)3 supporting abuse survivors, with 50 esteemed guests, including NYS Assembly Member Alex Bores, Dr. Joseph Pierce Farrell, Countess Joycelyn Engle Di Palma, Leslie Barrett, Katherine and Ann Johnson, Dan Rice, Esq., Adrian Devenyi, Rebecca and Ana Eskreis, Alexandra Hancock, Adrien Constant-Ross, Ara Chang, Esq., Jean Paul Laurent, Prashant Goyal, and board members H.H. Dr. Prince Mario-Max Schaumburg-Lippe, Myles von Trapp, Howard Freedman, and Justin Alexander. Special guest speakers, divorce coach and acclaimed journalist, Amy Polacko, and Dr. Christine M. Cocchiola, an internationally recognized authority on coercive control, discussed their groundbreaking new book, "FRAMED: Women in the Family Court Underworld", which illuminates how domestic abuse victims are treated in our family court system. The evening included cocktails, appetizers, desserts, and a surprise honor by H.H. Dr. Prince Mario-Max Schaumburg-Lippe, who presented Julianne with the Princely Lifetime Achievement Award.

Julianne spoke about the reason behind Mommy's Heart. "Abusers manipulate the legal system, using children as pawns, to maintain control and continue the cycle of abuse. 58,000 children annually are court-mandated to live with an abusive parent. Every six days, a child dies amid custody fights and family court lapses. This is a human rights crisis."

Mommy's Heart provides services to survivors through collaborations with Hogan Lovells, Hunton Andrews Kurth, Natalia Gourari, Esq., and volunteer therapists. The Mommy's Heart bill, aimed at creating more transparency and accountability in family court, protecting children's lives, and ensuring that reporting abuse never leads to the fear of parent-child separation, was introduced to the Judiciary Committee by NYS Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright. Co-sponsors include NYS Senator Joseph P. Addabbo Jr.

Event volunteers included: Ram Muraleedharan, Rachel Weiss, Marta Bryceland, Rubi Shen, Lance Virgil, Skylar Dykstra, and Jules Hamilton.

Mommy's Heart, Inc. (EIN #87-4833078) provides free legal and mental health services to parents and children, who escaped domestic abuse and are facing legal and financial retaliation by their abusers in court. Mommy's Heart aims to protect and defend the fundamental rights of fit parents to direct the care and custody of their children, so that no parent ever has to fear losing a child for reporting abuse.

Contact: mommysheartinc@gmail.com
www.mommysheartfoundation.com

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SOURCE Mommy's Heart