A Muppet character that was introduced in 2011 has a new story line shining a light on a tragedy that affects many children in our country -- homelessness.
Lily was introduced to the PBS neighborhood seven years ago. She had food insecurity, meaning her family didn’t have enough to eat.
At the time, Lily had the same story that nearly 17 million households experienced, The New York Times reported.
Now, her story has evolved.
Lily, who is said to be 7 years old, has been reintroduced and is living with friends, telling the Elmo character, "Now we don't have our own place to live, and sometimes I wonder if we'll ever have our own home," USA Today reported.
Elmo reassures Lily, telling her, “We got this,” adding her friends will be there for her.
Lily and her family are also staying in shelters, or staying with a person named Sofia, who works at a community center, the Times reported.
Sesame Workshop gave Lily the new story line to give hope to children who watch the show and also don't have a home of their own, USA Today reported.
It's part of the group's initiative called Sesame Street in Communities.
For more on Sesame Street in Communities, click here.
Homelessness impacts every state, according to the Department of Health and Human Services.
A recent report by the HHS division Administration for Children and Families found that in 2015, a third of all people in shelters were families with children and half of the children who were helped by emergency or transitional housing were 5 or younger.
From 2014 to 2015, 1,211,348 children-- or 1-in-20 -- in the U.S. under the age of 6 were homeless, according to government researchers.
Credit: Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for HBO
Credit: Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for HBO
