Lily was originally introduced in 2011, when her family was struggling with hunger. “We know children experiencing homelessness are often caught up in a devastating cycle of trauma – the lack of affordable housing, poverty, domestic violence, or other trauma that caused them to lose their home, the trauma of actually losing their home, and the daily trauma of the uncertainty and insecurity of being homeless,” said Sherrie Westin, President of Global Impact and Philanthropy at Sesame Workshop in a press release. The initiative engages children and families with the resilient and relatable Lily, a seven-year-old Muppet whose family is staying with friends on Sesame Street after losing their home.  Sesame Workshop Launches Nationwide Initiative to Address the Impact of Homelessness Among America’s Youngest Children 
 
 Sesame Workshop Launches Nationwide Initiative to Address the Impact of Homelessness Among America’s Youngest Children 
 
 
 
 Sesame Street’s Muppet Lily to offer help, hope, and healing to families struggling to find a permanent place to live; new initiative featured on www.sesamestreeincommunities.org 
 
 (New York, NY) December 12, 2018—Sesame Workshop, the non-profit educational organization behind Sesame Street, announced today a major new initiative to offer help and hope to the growing number of young children across the United States who are experiencing homelessness. She was first introduced to the series in 2011 where she explained that her family was experiencing food insecurity – they didn't have enough to eat. JUST WATCHED What in the World: A solution to homelessness Replay More Videos ... MUST WATCH What in the World: A solution to homelessness 03:27 
 
 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 
 
 During the 2013-14 school year, more than 1.3 million homeless children and youth were enrolled in public schools, according to the US Department of Education 
 
 However, in general, the exact number of homeless youth in America remains a mystery. We are working alongside others to build a national Culture of Health that provides everyone in America a fair and just opportunity for health and well-being.
– For the first time in its nearly 50-year history, Sesame Street will have a homeless Muppet character. Lily, a character first introduced as a hungry, impoverished little girl in 2011, is now involved in a storyline involving her family becoming homeless and having to stay with friends, CNN reports. For now, she appears in online clips rather than televised episodes of the show. The show launched the storyline as homelessness is increasing across the US; one report released last year estimates that about one in 20 children under the age of 6 experienced homelessness in 2014-15. "When Lily was first launched, she came out as part of the food insecurity initiative. 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," says a Sesame Workshop exec, who adds that another goal is to educate teachers, caregivers, and other children about issues affecting kids, helping them to empathize and to end the stigma around certain issues. "Now we don't have our own place to live, and sometimes I wonder if we'll ever have our own home," Lily says in one clip to Elmo, who reassures her that her friends will always be there for her, per USA Today. A press release about Lily links to resources parents and others can use with their kids. (Last year, Sesame Street introduced the first Muppet with autism.)