My dad was disabled on the job several years ago. He has since been out of work and has been collecting disability benefits. The disability benefits do not really provide much money so my dad had to cut back on a lot of expenses. For example, he had to get rid of his cell phone plan because it was too costly. The total cost was at least 50 dollars per month. Although I understand that he could not afford his cell phone plan, I did not think it was a good idea for him not to have a cell phone. His health has been failing for years and I fear that without a cell phone he could be putting himself in grave danger. I think he needed a cell phone so that he can call someone in case something was to happen to him.
My uneasiness with his situation motivated me to find a solution to the problem. After doing some searches online I came across something called free cell phones for disabled people. This was a program that was provided by companies such as Safelink, Assurance, and Reachout Wireless. Through this program, poor disabled people can get a free cell phone. They would need to present some kind of proof about their income though. Something like a pay stub would work. If you are getting other government assistance, you could show proof of that too. My father applied for the free phone and received it soon thereafter. With the free phone, he also gets about 250 free minutes every month. That is actually a good amount of minutes to use. I would imagine it is more than enough for a month’s worth of calls. He is not big on talking on the phone much anyways.
Since my dad carries his phone around, I am less worried about him. I know that he is only a phone call away. There is one other thing about the free cell phone program that you should note before you apply. This program is not available in all states yet. You should check with the wireless provider to see if it is available in the state that you are living in.
