Sesame Street’s legions of young viewers first met Lily in 2011 when she explained what it’s like to go hungry, visit food pantries, and receive free meals at school. Lily has now returned to teach children about another struggle, homelessness.
Lily, a bilingual seven-year-old muppet, represents one of the 2 million kids in the United States who currently experience homelessness. Sesame Street hopes Lily will help those children feel less alone. She is embraced by her peers long before her family finds permanent housing. Actress Jasmine Romero’s character, a Spanish speaker, reminds Lily she is “surrounded by love.”
Lily’s first run on television and her current comeback online are the work of Sesame Street in Communities, a program that offers support and hope to children facing difficult circumstances. It builds on Sesame Street’s history of taking on tough issues, says Jeanette Betancourt, senior vice president for U.S. social impact. Elmo’s father went away for military deployment. Julia, the first autistic muppet, was introduced in 2017.
Sesame Street in Communities was created with the help of a multimillion-dollar gift and challenge grant from Peter Peterson. The program has partnerships with groups that combat homelessness and provide social services. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is a key supporter.
“Having those partners on the ground led to the additional topics,” says Sherrie Westin, president of global impact and philanthropy. “Not enough people think of homelessness from the perspective of a child.”
Sesame Street in Communities plans to announce a new muppet who has been in foster care and has a parent battling addiction. Like Lily, she will debut on the program’s website and its YouTube page, which has more than 50 million views and 57,000 subscribers.
“We want the content to be available 24/7,” Westin says. “It’s about making sure we’re on every platform possible. We’ll always evolve with the times.”
Correction: A previous version of this article incorrectly said that Sesame Street will be announcing two new muppets, one who is in foster care and another with a parent who’s battling addiction. There will be just one new muppet who will be experiencing both issues. The article has also been updated to say that the new Sesame Street character will debut on both the group’s website and its YouTube page.
