”Thank you to the helpful gal for sending me information and the 911 telephone.  I especially appreciate the cell phone.  It will give me a sense of security both indoors and outside.”

 Sincerely,

                                          “A recipient from the southern Maine area”

We want to thank Mary Hadlock with the Southern Maine Agency on Aging for sharing this testimonial with us. In addition, we want to extend our gratitude to her as well for helping us to reach out to the seniors in Southern Maine.

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

Since this is a senior program, we used it to give our seniors an emergency phone system that would give them peace of mind and ensure their safety in a compromising situation. It worked, and my phone continues to ring off the hook while providing this very vulnerable area with a sense of security.

I want to mention I work very closely with Public Health. In fact, there is one nurse particular who is in charge of working with physically and mentally challenged children. This particular nurse had recently asked me if she could have four of my phones to give to these children, (again, to provide security and safety to a part of our society who is so compromised). I was more than happy to do so.

Thank you for the wonderful opportunity to be a part of this program.

I’d bet not too many of our clients have ever considered placing a phone within their offices as a deterrant to a potential crime.  Thanks, Brenda, for sharing this information with all of us

“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.