The people at Sesame Street may be the one voice in America speaking up about what really matters. As politicians humm and haww, trying to find handholds on populist issues and morsels of dirt to fling at each other, Sesame Street has been doing quiet work to focus the next generation on issues like family homelessness.
In a recent clip called "A Rainbow Kind Of Day," it's revealed that the muppet, Lily, has lost her home. She's reminded of the colour of her bedroom (purple) by the rainbow mural she's painting, which prompts her to describe how her family's been moving around to "all different places" since they lost their apartment. The comfort she receives is also meant to lessen the stigma surrounding homelessness: "home is more than a house or an apartment, home is where the love is."
The show is created at an educational tool that has an accompanying website that has bilingual and in-depth supplements to all the segments of the show. The family homelessness page describes the issue: "losing one’s home brings enormous challenges, yet families can be incredibly strong and determined to create a better future. Every family can build a sense of hope and learn ways to cope…and remember that no one is alone."
