Fast & Free shipping on many items! © 2021 Cable News Network. A report released last year by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development revealed that homelessness is increasing across the country, with 553,742 people nationwide homeless on a single night in 2017, an increase of 0.7% from the previous year. A Warner Media Company. All rights reserved. Tomlin as "Ernestine" with Oscar. 9:38 AM EST, Wed December 12, 2018. As she appears to be about the same age as Elmo, the two often spend time together. Lily, the hot pink puppet with red hair, is the first character to be homeless on "Sesame Street." So 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,” Westin said. It is revealed in this series that Lily's family has lost their apartment home and have had to stay with friends. In December 2018, the character was reintroduced in a series of online videos as part of Sesame Street in Communities' initiative on homelessness. Lily, a 7-year-old muppet whose family stays with friends on "Sesame Street" after they lost their home, is shown seen with Sofia, who works at the local community center. "Lily is … Meet Lily, a muppet facing growing concern: national hunger. Lily’s story as a Muppet serves as an example of how homelessness has become a growing issue in America, said Hustings, who has no relationship with Sesame Workshop. “It’s like, wow, we’ve gotten to this point where this era of homelessness has become so common and so entrenched that it begs a character on ‘Sesame Street’ to help children understand what they’re seeing in their communities,” Hustings said. Julia, a new autistic muppet character, will join the cast of "Sesame Street" in April. * Sesame Street and CNN's Town Hall deliver powerful message about racism * Lily is the first homeless character to live on Sesame Street * Kermit the Frog will have a … The longest-running children's TV show teaches much more than just letters and numbers. “Numbers are always trouble,” said Megan Hustings, interim director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. Orman's real-life son Miles joined the cast in season 17 as Gordon's son, solidifying Orman's role as a kind and caring father. “Homelessness is also a much more varied experience than living on the streets and – as defined by the Department of Education – includes living in a car, a motel, a shelter and doubling up with friends. “But we know that ‘Sesame Street’ is coming from a place of education and really wants to build awareness and understanding of all of our community members, despite differences, which is really amazing,” she said. Take your favorite fandoms with you and never miss a beat. At the forefront is Lily, 7-year-old Muppet who is homeless, and staying with friends on Sesame Street. Our Sesame friends are collecting foods at a food drive and a community garden and meet Lily, a new character whose family has an ongoing struggle with hunger. Leslie Carrara-Rudolph. A homeless Muppet named Lily was also introduced in December as a part of Sesame Workshop’s initiative. He also works as a performer on Broadway. Lily loves martial arts so much that she sometimes accidentally breaks things. On Tuesday, Sesame Workshop, the show’s nonprofit educational arm, announcedthat one of the show’s characters, Lily (who was first introduced in 2011), will experience homelessness. Please click the button below to agree to our Terms and Conditions and acknowledge our Privacy Policy. Lily was among the international characters used for Sesame Workshop 's Dream, Save, Do campaign, appearing in original video content alongside the American … Lily, from Bear in the Big Blue House.