It’s not the fact that Lily, the new seven-year-old muppet on Sesame Street is bright pink that makes her different than the other characters — it’s the fact that she’s homeless.
The producers of the popular children’s show wanted to find a way to explain homelessness to their young audience. (It’s a sad commentary on our world that this is even necessary.)
We first met Lily in 2011 when she was ‘food-insecure,’ meaning her family lacked consistent access to food.
Now the bright pink character is experiencing occasional homelessness, since, as Lily describes it, her family lost their apartment.
“She’s not brand new, but this seemed like a really perfect extension of her story so that we could use her to help children identify with,” said Sherrie Westin, president of global impact and philanthropy for Sesame Workshop.
“With any of our initiatives, our hope is that we’re not only reaching the children who can identify with that Muppet but that we’re also helping others to have greater empathy and understanding of the issue.”
About 1 in 20 children younger than 6 experienced homelessness in 2014 to 2015, according to a report released last year by the US Administration for Children and Families.
