‘Sesame Street’ Tackles Opioid Crisis With Muppet Character Whose Mother Has an Addiction (Video)
New Initiative is part of “Sesame Street in Communities” program
Tim Baysinger | October 10, 2019 @ 8:45 AM
Last Updated: October 10, 2019 @ 8:46 AM
“Sesame Street” is launching a new infinitive to support children who have parents battling opioid addiction.
Sesame Workshop, the non-profit educational organization behind the long-running children’s show, launched the new initiative which sees Karli, a six and a half year-old Muppet, whose mom is dealing with addiction. Sesame Workshop is putting a slew of short-form videos and other content, all of which can be found here, as part of its “Sesame Street in Communities” program.
Karli was first introduced on “Sesame Street” in May 2019 as the face of the group’sfoster care initiative. The video above sees Elmo’s dad, Louie, explaining addiction to Elmo.
According to data provided by Sesame Workshop, there are 5.7 million children under the age of 11 (one in eight children) that live in households with a parent who has a substance abuse disorder. The group continued that one in three of these children will enter foster care due to parental addiction, a number that has grown by more than 50% in the past decade.
“Addiction is often seen as a ‘grown-up’ issue, but it impacts children in ways that aren’t always visible. Having a parent battling addiction can be one of the most isolating and stressful situations young children and their families face,” said Sherrie Westin, president of Social Impact and Philanthropy, Sesame Workshop. “Sesame Street has always been a source of comfort to children during the toughest of times, and our new resources are designed to break down the stigma of parental addiction and help families build hope for the future.”
Top 13 'Sesame Street' Characters Ranked: From Elmo to Mr Snuffleupagus (Photos)
Since it launched on PBS in 1969, "Sesame Street" has brought generations of kids much joy with its colorful, relatable Muppets. But some stand out more than others.
13. Abby Cadabby Who? Exactly.
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12. Telly Nobody likes a worrywart, and Telly is the worry-est wart there is.
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11. Zoe Elmo proved to be such a popular character that the show introduced Zoe in 1993 to be his companion. But did we really need another Elmo?
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10. Rosita Rosita is most memorable for being the first regular bilingual character on "Sesame Street," but not much else.
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9. Mr. Snuffleupagus Everyone had an imaginary friend growing up, but only Big Bird's proved to be real.
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7. Bert and Ernie (tie) There's no separating this duo, not even on this list.
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6. Grover Grover doesn't speak in contractions, which should be annoying, but the character somehow manages to make it endearing.
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5. The Count The world has forgotten scores of pop culture vampires (Edward Cullen of "Twilight," we're looking at you) but we'll always remember The Count.
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4. Oscar the Grouch Oscar the Grouch represents the little bit of misanthropy that exists in all of us.
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3. Cookie Monster Who doesn't love cookies?
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2. Big Bird Tall, yellow and feathery, Big Bird is probably the most immediately recognizable "Sesame Street" character.
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1. Elmo While Big Bird may be the most recognizable, Elmo is easily the most beloved.
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TheWrap picks the TV muppets from worst to best
Since it launched on PBS in 1969, "Sesame Street" has brought generations of kids much joy with its colorful, relatable Muppets. But some stand out more than others.