ATLANTA — Academy Award-winner Sean Penn teamed up with the Arthur Blank Foundation to bring free Covid-19 testing to Atlanta.
Penn’s organization, CORE Response, set up at the Home Depot Backyard, right next to Mercedes Benz Stadium.
“The volunteers here in Atlanta are a really promising, exciting group of willful, motivated, smart people,” Penn said.
Penn created CORE right after the devastating earthquake in Haiti 10 years ago. Earlier this month, the organization started offering Covid-19 testing in California. It has since spread to other cities.
“(Medical professionals) show you how to administer (the test) in your car, with the window up, and then you drop it in the basket. So the whole test is done on-site,” said Ann Lee, co-founder of Core.
Free tests will be offered to those who have symptoms, along with those considered “high-risk” and the elderly.
“When you think about the disproportionate impact this crisis is having on communities of color, and the emphasis we have on the West Side (of Atlanta) to us, this was a clear mandate,” said Frank Fernandez with the Arthur Blank Foundation.
Penn said the Atlanta testing is the first time his organization will be able to test asymptomatic workers, specifically, food service workers who are now on the front-lines.
“This is a celebration. It’s a celebration of citizenship. A celebration of the citizenship of the volunteers and the community,” Penn said.
The organization plans to hold testing from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday for the foreseeable future.