My father had a stroke several years ago and he could not work after that. The stroke left him paralyzed in parts of his body. He stays at home most of the time collecting his disability checks. Since I live far away from him, I am not able to check up on him as often as I would like. I wanted him to get a cell phone so I could contact him or he could contact me. The problem was that he does not make much money and a cell phone would be out of the question for him.
I had recently heard from a friend that you could apply for a free cell phone from one of the wireless cell phone providers. I did a search online and found out about the free Assurance cell phones. The Assurance Wireless Lifeline program allows user a free phone with 250 free voice minutes every month. The minutes are added automatically every month. Also, if the 250 free minutes is not enough, you could pay 5 dollars which would add an extra 250 minutes. The good thing about this program is that there is no annual contract.
In order to qualify my dad has to be income eligible and also he needs to be in the state where Assurance wireless program is offered. On their website I was able to find our state. To be eligible my dad’s income had to be at or below 135% of the federal poverty guidelines. Also, he would qualify if he was participating in Medicaid, food stamps, SSI, or LIHEAP. We printed out the application, filled it out, and sent it in. Not long after that, my dad received his cell phone.
I am happy that he carries his cell phone around now. I can contact him or he can contact me. I feel very secure in knowing that he’s got a method of calling someone if he needs help.
