Health and Fitness : Sesame Street introduces new character to deal with Substance Abuse

Anyone who has raised a child (or been a child) in the last 50 years has surely been thankful for the education, entertainment and connection provided by Sesame Street. Now those lovable Muppets are offering something else to be thankful for.
 
Earlier this year, a new character was introduced as part of the Sesame Street in Communities foster care initiative. “Karli” is a 6 ½ year old Muppet whose mom has a substance use disorder. Karli went into foster care while her mom received treatment, and her mom is now in recovery.
 
According to the press release from Sesame Workshop, “The trauma of parental addiction can have lasting impacts on a child’s health and well-being, but children can be incredibly resilient; the effects of traumatic experiences can be mitigated with the right support from caring adults like the parents, caregivers, and providers this initiative targets.”
 
In addition to the Sesame Street programming, the initiative provides age-appropriate, bilingual messages and tools created in consultation with experts in addiction and early childhood development, which you can find here: https://sesamestreetincommunities.org/topics/parental-addiction/.
 
At ASAC, incorporating family into a patient’s treatment plan is integral to our approach. Especially at our women and children’s programs, Heart of Iowa and Hightower Place, we welcome these valuable resources to help our patients and their families heal and build resiliency.