Open Hearts Initiative Co-Founder and Executive Director Corinne Low on Lower Manhattan Transitional Housing Sites

As opposition mounts against planned transitional housing and services for homeless New Yorkers in Lower Manhattan, Corinne Low, co-founder of the Open Hearts Initiative, issued the following statement in support of welcoming homeless neighbors:

“As a Chinese American woman and mom who welcomed homeless New Yorkers to my own neighborhood, it is heartbreaking to see people pitting the safety of Asian-Americans and homeless New Yorkers against one other. I understand the pain and fear from this heartbreaking year, but the fact is, when everybody’s needs are met, all of us are safer. The planned transitional housing sites are investments in a community that has faced decades of disinvestment. The sites will provide culturally competent, private, and dignified places for folks who have already been living unsheltered in close proximity to the two new sites, and have been hesitant to enter traditional shelters. These sites will offer services and a path to permanent housing, which will help the entire community recover from these difficult times. While the Adams administration is pushing homeless New Yorkers from place to place, kicking them off the subways and separating them from their belongings and makeshift homes on the streets, I hope others will join me in seeing that working together to make these sites successful will benefit all New Yorkers, housed and unhoused.”