Sesame Street has a new resident on the block, but this new little girl doesn’t have a permanent home. Meet Lily, a homeless Muppet, the newest to be added to Sesame Street’s YouTube programming, and the first character to deal with and bring to light issues of homelessness.
Lily, a seven-year-old, shares her story of leaving behind her apartment and expresses sadness and worry over whether or not her family will ever have their own home again. In 2011, Lily made her first appearance on the children’s program when she was shown to be feeling hungry because he family wasn’t always able to afford food.
In a BBC report, Sherrie Westin, a Sesame Workshop representative, explains the important decision: “We want [homeless children] to know that they are not alone.”
Longtime fans of the series took to social media to express frustration over Lily’s “homeless” description as many believed the beloved character Oscar the Grouch was the first and original homeless Sesame Street character. However, Oscar has made a choice to live in the garbage bin and even sings a song called, “I Love Trash.”
Just because you play in trash, doesn’t mean you’re homeless.
Sesame Workshop says there are over 2.5 million homeless children in America- nearly half of them are under six years old.
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