From the smiling faces to the cheerful songs, many people remember the day they watched ‘Sesame Street’, or are now witnessing it again with their children. What many newcomers and seasoned fans might not know is the recent character development of one of the previous regulars- highlighting the life of the homeless.

“We are proud to announce new resources on @SesameCommunity around the topic of family homelessness. With activities, storybooks & more, our resources can offer help, healing & hope to families without a permanent place to stay,” tweeted Sesame Street today.

The PBS television show has extended the story of a fan favorite: Lily. Initially, Lily’s character was seen on the Sesame Special “Growing Hope Against Hunger.” She mentions there that she is “food insecure” – she doesn’t have enough to eat. She also appeared months later in a national “Food For Thought” campaign and many other Sesame Workshop presentations. Now, Sesame Street has reintroduced her in a mini-series called Sesame Street In Communities. This mini-series was created to take action on extending more positive efforts towards the homeless.

“On “Sesame Street,” “homeless” is never uttered because of the stigma surrounding the word; on the show, “H” stands for hope, help, healing, and home… but now things have changed, and awareness should be created,” spoke the producers in a recent interview with NY Times.

Lily’s character will be suffering from not having a place to live, as her family loses their apartment home. She will begin seeking out the support from friends. It will be Elmo who saves the day and teaches Lily how even through our hard times, we can still rely on our golden friends to pull us through.

“Sometimes me think, ‘what is friend?’ And then me say, ‘Friend is someone to share the last cookie with.”’ – Cookie Monster