The New Orleans Police Department came on board with us about a year and a half ago and have been just wonderful to work with. My point of contact is the Victim Assistance Coordinator, Latina Jolivett. It’s been a pleasure working with her.  Above all her many responsibilities, she still manages to keep the program afloat and does it well.

Just recently the Administrative Support Bureau of the NOPD donated a vast number of phones (almost 350), batteries, and chargers. A huge thank you goes out to them on behalf of the Victim Assistances Department. It’s the donations like this, that help seniors and victims of abuse all across the nation.  Thank you so much

They were obviously watching me intently, and there was no doubt they were somehow involved in this very weird situation. I quickly chucked the errand I was on, jumped in my car and sped away.

I went straight to the police station, told them what had happened, and found out I was part of a new, and very successful, scheme being used to gain entry into cars. Two weeks later, my friend’s son had a similar happening…

While traveling, my friend’s son stopped at a roadside rest area to use the bathroom. When he came out to his car less than 4-5 minutes later, someone had gotten into his car and stolen his cell phone, laptop computer, GPS navigator, briefcase…you name it.

He called the police and since there were no signs of his car being broken into, the police told him he had been a victim of the latest robbery tactic there is a device that robbers are using now to clone your security code when you lock your doors on your car using your keychain locking device..

They sit a short distance away and watch for their next victim. They know you are going inside of the store, restaurant, or bathroom and that they now have a few minutes to steal and run. The police officer said to manually lock your car door by hitting the lock button inside the car…that way if there is someone sitting in a parking lot watching for their next victim, it will not be you.

When you hit the lock button on your car upon exiting, it does not send the security code, but if you walk away and use the door lock on your key chain, it sends the code through the airwaves where it can be instantly stolen. This is very real.

Be wisely aware of what you just read and please pass this information on. Look how many times we all lock our doors with our remote just to be sure we remembered to lock them — and bingo, someone has our code…and whatever was in our car.

Thanks, Mel, for sharing this application with us, and we appreciate your continued support of the 911 Cell Phone Bank program.

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

During one of their home deliveries for Meals on Wheels it was brought to Deputy Cannon’s attention that the person she was visiting/delivering a meal to was clutching onto her home “land-line” phone. After a brief conversation with this client, Deputy Cannon learned that the phone was her link to safety and was her security. This particular client and many others throughout the county/state are using Life Line. This is a great program and a huge number of seniors/elderly citizens are utilizing this program all across the United States. By all means, please inform your clients and anybody you know who uses Life Line, that in the event they are without electricity, this will not be of any value to them if they are depending on a cordless phone. You must have power in order for your “cordless phone” to work. There are numerous people that are not aware of this and are relying solely on “Life Line”.

After this incident, Deputies Cannon and Ridgeway asked the Meals on Wheels drivers if they would carry around a sign-up sheet with them . During their deliveries the driver will simply ask the clients if they are in need of an emergency 911 phone and if so, they are given one at no cost and it is delivered with their meal…Safety a la Carte’…what a treat!

This was submitted by Elynne Greene, Victim Services Supervisor and Human Trafficking Task Force Director of the LVMPD.  Thank you Elynne…

In law enforcement, we are often in a reactive mode, rather than a proactive one.  Citizens can’t file a police report or request an investigation of a crime that hasn’t happened.  LVMPD has a very talented Crime Prevention Section in each of our Area Commands.  Now, we have another resource to help prevent crime which is the Catholic Charities. We have partnered with them on behalf of vulnerable seniors.  Over the last two weeks, we have distributed 20 phones throughout Clark County to homebound and vulnerable senior citizens without a home phone.  Many of these individuals also have medical issues and must rely on neighbors to call for help if they become ill! 

The emergency phones we receive from the 911 Cell Phone Bank are being provided with large print information about community resources and instructions for using the phones.  While we have had firsthand experience of the impact of one of these 911 cell phones saving a potential victim’s life, the ability to provide these phones as a lifeline and preventative tool for our vulnerable citizens is truly a gift! 

“I wanted to thank you for sending us several refurbished cell phones, received under the 911 Cell Phone Bank program. I would like to share with you a situation where one of these phones has been utilized. Last week, while our Community Officers were handling a Home Invasion call for service, they contacted us in the Crime Prevention Unit to come out and conduct a home security survey for the victim. This client was a single, working mother, with four children ranging from toddler to teen. While conducting the survey, it was brought to our attention that there was neither a home phone or cell phone available to this family, for use in the case of an emergency. At the time of the invasion, one of the teens was home – alone – after getting her younger siblings off to school. Upon seeing how shaken this young girl was in her own home, we immediately came back to the office to obtain one of our 911 emergency use phones for this family. They were extremely grateful to receive it, and it made our job more rewarding, knowing that we were able to help this family work toward feeling secure in their home once again.

So again, thank you,

Kim”

Stories like these are what keep us going in our daily work activities, keeping in touch with all our clients and assisting them any way we can.

The 911 Cell Phone Bank program has been a huge success in Franklin County, New York. Because of RSVP’s collaboration with Public Health, the CARES unit and the Office for the Aging, we have provided seniors over 60 years old with a cell phone. This phone has given them the peace of mind in knowing that they can reach emergency services when needed. Over 80 phones have been dispersed and 100 phones are being sent out in a few weeks so that they can be given out to these agencies dealing with seniors living in isolated areas of our community.

This program will indeed be responsible for the safety and well being of one of the most vulnerable people in our society, our senior citizens…thank you.

 Susan Schrader, Director

Recently I received an email from one of my clients that has been partnered with us for over two years. It literally gave me goose bumps after reading it. The little things we do can have a big impact on others. This is one of the reasons why I enjoy helping others.

Here is the success story Elynne Greene, the Victim’s Services Supervisor with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department shared with me.

Elynne provided a 911 Cell Phone Bank emergency cell phone to a very high risk victim of domestic violence.  Her abuser, who has been in and out of prison, had become very adept at avoiding the police, avoiding service of protection orders and getting through the courts with reduced charges. She had just about given up hope when she was given the emergency cell phone.

One investigator expressed the concern that it only calls 911. With the inability to locate the cell phone or even call back after it was disconnected, he really didn’t see the value of the phone. His final words were ”well it is better than nothing”.

That night, the abuser showed up at her residence. Before entering, he cut the wires to the landline phone so she could not dial 911. She quickly grabbed her emergency cell phone, ran into the bedroom and dialed 911. He had no idea that she would have access to a cell phone and as a result he was arrested and she is alive today!