Every child deserves to grow up with a strong connection to a caring adult and a loving family. But for one in four kids in Shelby County, a supportive relationship with a parent figure isn’t so easy to come by.

The legacy of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) — ranging from physical, emotional, or sexual abuse; physical or emotional neglect; the loss of a parent through illness, death, divorce, or incarceration; or domestic violence or substance abuse within the family — places barriers in their path to a propitious adulthood.

As the number of ACEs a child has experienced increases, so too does the risk for a range of negative outcomes while growing up, such as depression, school failure, addiction, obesity, diabetes, and the adoption of risky adult behaviors that can lead to heart disease, cancer, and other illnesses.

Sesame Street’s Elmo appeared at a press conference announcing a partnership among Sesame Street in Communities, the ACE Awareness Foundation, and Porter-Leath to support early childhood development in Memphis and Shelby County, TN. (Photo: The ACE Awareness Foundation)

But ACEs aren’t destiny. And Memphians should be proud of the fact that because of our dedication to understanding and working to address adverse childhood experiences, our city is at the forefront of what has become a national movement to prevent toxic stress among children and support their healthy development.

This month, the city is welcoming a new ally in this work — one that comes with a five-decade track record of helping kids grow up stronger, kinder, and smarter: Big Bird and his pals.

Beginning this month, the ACE Awareness Foundation and its Universal Parenting Places (UPPs) will work with Sesame Street in Communities (SSIC) to bring free resources and training to the city in support of our efforts to foster families’ and kids’ resilience, nurture their physical and mental health, and provide additional critical early learning opportunities.

To continue reading this oped by by ACE Awareness Foundation Executive Director Renée Wilson-Simmons, go to: https://www.commercialappeal.c...-opinion/2208577002/