Last month, Sesame Street announced that one of its newest characters, a green Muppet named Karli, will address the issue of substance abuse.
On the show, Karli lives with foster parents but still has a relationship with her biological mother. Online content will dive further into her backstory and explain that her mother is struggling with addiction.
The Sesame Street gang will “learn what Karli is going through and help their friend to cope,” as part of the show’s Sesame Street In Communities initiative. The initiative aims to produce content that will help parents, social workers and therapists talk about difficult issues with children.
Kama Einhorn, a senior content manager at Sesame Workshop, says, “There’s nothing else out there that [besides Karli] addresses substance abuse for young, young kids from their perspective.”
“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,” says Sherrie Westin, President of Social Impact and Philanthropy at Sesame Workshop.
Read more about Karli, substance abuse, and Sesame Street at the Huffington Post or at the Sesame Workshop. And if you’re looking for help with your own addiction, check out free recovery options and online peer meetings at In The Rooms!
Photo by Alexander Dummer on Unsplash
