Penn Professors Receive 2020 NYC Coalition for the Homeless Compassionate Community Award

Melissa E. Sanchez, Donald T. Regan Professor of English, and Corinne Low, Assistant Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy at the Wharton School, are leaders of the Upper West Side Open Hearts Initiative, an organization that was awarded the 2020 NYC Coalition for the Homeless Compassionate Community Award.

Low co-founded the Open Hearts Initiative to support the residents of three shelters that have been temporarily relocated to Upper West Side hotels to reduce crowding and stop the spread of COVID-19. Sanchez soon joined the leadership committee. Working with shelter residents and care providers and local neighbors, schools, businesses, and religious leaders, Open Hearts has provided unhoused New Yorkers with moral and material support. As part of this effort, Open Hearts has organized community art events to show shelter residents welcome and support; rallies, marches, and sleep-outs; voter registration drives; addiction and recovery counseling; and drives in which people can donate food, supplies, clothing, and MetroCards.

To read the full announcement, click here.