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With our Family Promise week nearly upon us, check out this article from CNN, written by Jacqueline Howard, about the newest character on Sesame Street.
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Sesame Street Muppet becomes first to experience homelessness
For the first time, a resident of "Sesame Street" is experiencing homelessness -- and the hope is that her story can help sweep the clouds away for the growing number of young children in the United States without homes to call their own.
Lily, a 7-year-old bright pink Muppet, was introduced to the world in 2011. She was originally described as being food-insecure because her family lacked consistent access to food.
Now, "Lily is the first Muppet we've created whose storyline includes that she is experiencing homelessness," said Sherrie Westin, president of global impact and philanthropy for Sesame Workshop, formerly Children's Television Workshop, which is the nonprofit behind "Sesame Street."
In new online videos, stories and resources, Sesame Workshop has expanded Lily's storyline to include that her family has lost their home and now must stay with friends. This homelessness initiative launched Wednesday as part of Sesame Workshop's Sesame Street in Communities program.
"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," Westin said. "With any of our initiatives, our hope is that we're not only reaching the children who can identify with that Muppet but that we're also helping others to have greater empathy and understanding of the issue."
Although her journey with homelessness will not appear in televised episodes of "Sesame Street" at this point, she will be in separate videos and materials in the initiative.
"The goal is really to give service providers, parents, teachers tools in order to address homelessness with children, in order to talk about it and raise awareness of the issue from a child's perspective and also to help children experiencing homelessness feel less alone," Westin said.
"I think we tend to think of homelessness as an adult issue and don't always look at it through the lens of a child, and we realize that Sesame has a unique ability to do that, to look at tough issues with the lens of a child," she said.
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.
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.
"Numbers are always trouble," said Megan Hustings, interim director of the National Coalition for the Homeless.
The number of young people who have experienced homelessness varies depending on age, time frame and how homelessness is defined, but between 500,000 and 2.8 million youth are thought to be homeless within the United States each year, according to the Interagency Working Group on Youth Programs.
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.
"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.
Highlighting Lily's experiences with homelessness can positively impact the way children today think about homelessness and people in poverty, said Rashmita Mistry, a professor of education at the University of California, Los Angeles, who is not involved in Sesame Workshop.
"Young children quickly develop ideas about the homeless based on what they see, observe and hear. And, unfortunately, their perceptions lead them to form negative impressions about the homeless," Mistry said.
"Humanizing the experience of homelessness is especially important because families with young children and school-age children make up a sizable proportion of the homeless population, especially so in urban communities where there's high cost of housing, a tight housing market and limited rent control along with low and non-sustainable wages," she said. "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. Yet this is a group we often do not talk about."
Click here to read the entire article.
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Feel free to join any activity! Mark your interest on the Welcome/Action sheet in the weekly Grace Notes for any event in blue. Events in green have information below.
- Register for a Wellness Package through Life Line Screening, which includes 4 vascular tests and osteoporosis screening, from $149 ($139 with our member discount). All five screenings take 60-90 minutes to complete. There are three ways to register for this event and to receive a $10 discount off any package priced above $129, please call toll-free 1-888-653-6441 or visit http://lifelinescreening.com/communitycircle or text the word circle to 797979.
- The sign-up sheet for assisting with hosting our Family Promise Families the week of January 13th through the 20th is locate on a table in the Fellowship Hall. Please add your name to help.
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Adopt-a-Family
Thank you to everyone who donated to the Adopt-a-Family program this year. Cathy Irwin met with the mother and older daughter to present our gifts to the family. They were so appreciative that they hugged her many times. That's what gift giving is all about. Thank you again for helping this family enjoy a wonderful Christmas.
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Westside Community Center (WCC) Food Pantry
Grace Lutheran serves the WCC pantry 4 months of the year. During 2018, the "neighbors" received food, toiletries and pet food for 1506 people. They receive food for 3 meals a day for 4 days which equates to 18,072 meals given.
The other churches that serve the WCC pantry are Christ the King Lutheran and Gateway Presbyterian.
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About Grace
Office phone: 719-634-2478
Office fax: 719-633-0786
After-hours emergency phone: 719-445-6510
Grace Lutheran Church is a congregation of the Rocky Mountain Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. As a partner with both local and national church organizations, we participate in many important ministries. Our partners include:
Rocky Mountain Synod
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Lutheran Family Services Rocky Mountains
Rainbow Trail Lutheran Camp
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