The White Pine County Sheriff’s Office in Ely, Nevada has been a participant of the 911 Cell Phone Bank program since 2006. Maxine Lantz the Program Director has been my point of contact from the beginning. She often communicates some of their success stories with me and how beneficial the program is to their agency. Recently Maxine informed me that the funds they receive from the 911 Cell Phone Bank is used for multiple projects. Here are a few she wanted to share with you all:

The money that we have gotten from the 911 Cell Phone Bank  program has assisted women in abusive relationships in our rural communities. Here are a couple of examples where the money was used:

Funds were used to put our client’s abusive husband’s personal items into storage to keep him away from her  while he decided what he was going to do with his property. This insured that he did not need to contact her. During this time the abuser was out on bail for domestic violence (he had killed his brother).

During the Christmas season, while another lady’s spouse was in jail for domestic violence (strangulation), our client went to a metropolitan area to shop, leaving their two yr old son at home with a babysitter. The abuser cut off all of their credit cards and froze their bank account, leaving the lady stranded in the metropolitan area in their vehicle without a way to buy gas and return to her son. Funds that were generated from the phones we sent to the 911 Cell Phone Bank were used to get the lady back home safely to her son.

In addition, six emergency cell phones have been placed in the last year with abused women and their children. Two of the 911 phones were destroyed by the abuser and replaced. Thanks to the 911 Cell Phone Bank, these women and their children always had a way to call for help. Thank you, Maxine