The world-famous children's television show Sesame Street has introduced a new character to highlight the plight homeless children. The educational TV series, which has been aired since 1969, is helping to tackle the issue homelessness a new character called Lily. She is a 7-year-old girl who was left homeless her family lost their apartment. Lily's plight mirrors that over 2.5 million children the USA who are also homeless. Millions more youngsters the world are the same situation. A Sesame Street spokeswoman, Sherrie Westin, hoped the character Lily would reduce the stigma associated homelessness and allow children to identify her, "and hopefully feel less alone".
The iconic, educational show has a long history raising awareness social issues children. Other tough topics they have addressed include dealing parents who are in prison, living autism, and facing bullies school. Ms Westin stressed the importance reaching out to children who have no permanent home. She said: "We know children experiencing homelessness are often caught in a devastating cycle trauma. As well as the daily hardship being homeless, those children may suffer due to poverty, domestic violence, or other trauma that caused them to lose their home." She added: "We want homeless children to know that they are not alone."
