February 13, 2015
Montgomery County Office of the Sheriff/for PhillyVoice
Donated cell phones don’t need cellular service in order to make emergency calls.
Montgomery County Sheriff Russell Bono announced Friday the launch of a new campaign to collect 911 phones for victims of domestic abuse.
The campaign is an extension of a gift of cell phones the Sheriff’s Office made earlier this year to the Women’s Center.
“Many of the Women’s Center’s clients come through our office to have their protection from abuse orders served,” said Bono in a statement. “At times, some of those victims will ask for phones because they don’t have one of their own. Our office has been successful in the past with cell phone collections, so we thought we would start another campaign for the Women’s Center.”
The cell phones do not need cellular service to make emergency calls. If the phone can be powered up and locate a network, it can connect to 911 services.
Donated phones and chargers can be dropped off at three drop-off points:
“We just hope to help these victims feel a little safer, knowing that they have a phone to use in the event of an emergency,” Bono said.
