Mother Finds Security in a Cell Phone

Donate Your Cell Phone

Bertha, one of the women who received an E-911 cell phone, recently re-located from New York to mid-coast Maine even though she has no family or friends in this area. Bertha’s daughter, Susan, was verbally abusive and threatened to hurt Bertha if she didn’t give  as much money as Susan asked.  Bertha lives off a very modest Social Security check so she was falling behind on bills because Susan demanded more than half of her monthly check. When Bertha’s electricity was cut off, she decided it was time to move away from her daughter. She had visited Maine a few times and liked the area so she came here. However, that also meant leaving a beloved son and his family.

Bertha’s son, William, is a disabled veteran of the Iraq War. His family struggles to make ends meet so was not able to afford a trip to Maine to see Bertha after they helped her move from New York to Maine. It had been a year since Bertha saw her family and she missed them terribly. Frequent calls did not make up for seeing them in person. Bertha’s car is older and mechanically sound but she worried about driving from Maine to New York by herself to visit her family for a few weeks this summer.

Bertha received a Go-Bag with a 9-1-1 phone. The 9-1-1 phone gave her the courage she needed to make the drive to New York to see her family. She never needed to use the phone but knowing it was there, gave her the confidence that if something went wrong with the car or if she became sick, she would be able to call the police. Bertha and William and his family enjoyed a two week visit—lots of Grammy hugs, laughter, and shared fun—because Bertha had the confidence to drive with the E-9-1-1 phone by her side.

Contributed by Deborah Mullen, Coordinator – Lincoln County Triad