Wireless Technology Helps to Protect Domestic Violence Survivors

Verizon Wireless recently donated 50 wireless phones and free airtime to Sanctuary for Families, a Manhattan- based non-profit agency providing life-saving services to victims of domestic violence and their families.

The donation was made possible through the company's HopeLine Phone Recycling Program. No-longer-used wireless phones, collected at Verizon Wireless Communications Stores throughout the New York Metro area, are refurbished, recycled or sold and the proceeds are donated to domestic violence advocacy groups or used to purchase wireless phones for victims. Phones that cannot be refurbished are disposed of in an environmentally friendly manner.

Sanctuary for Families will lend the phones to women at risk to call for help in emergencies and to make phone calls necessary to rebuild their lives. Since its founding in 1984, Sanctuary for Families has become a recognized model among domestic violence agencies for providing a range of culturally- sensitive and integrated services.

"No offense shakes individual security more than violence in the home," said Charles Hand, president of Verizon Wireless' New York Metro Region. "At Verizon Wireless, we continue to be humbled by the strength of domestic violence survivors as they work to secure their families and rebuild their lives."

Since 2001, consumers have donated more than 2.5 million used wireless phones to benefit domestic violence survivors and advocacy groups, including nearly 100,000 wireless handsets in the New York Metro area. During the past three years, using funds generated by the HopeLine program, Verizon Wireless' New York Metro Region has awarded nine HopeLine grants totaling $90,000 to domestic violence prevention groups to fund new or expanded programs.

In addition to free wireless phones, service and voice mailboxes for victims, HopeLine includes community and corporate awareness initiatives, and a bilingual "Invest in Yourself" program designed to help survivors re-enter the workforce.