difenbaker
03-27-2006, 08:21 AM
Cell-phone use growing more popular among the homeless.
Prepaid plans make keeping in touch a bit cheaper, they say
Monday, March 27, 2006
RALEIGH NEWS & OBSERVER
Stewart Schiff has everything he needs to get by while living on the streets: a backpack, a sleeping bag and a good pair of shoes.
He also has a cell phone.
Schiff, 41, who has been home-less on and off for eight years, uses his prepaid Virgin Mobile phone to look for work and get messages from potential employers.
"I call it networking," he said while standing in line for a free lunch at the Raleigh Rescue Mission recently. "The more people I know, the better chance I have of getting a job."
Cell phones are increasingly popular among the Triangle's homeless. With public pay phones quietly disappearing and prices on cell phones dropping, many homeless people say that it just makes sense.
But some social workers are concerned. They worry that the phones are an unnecessary expense that, in some cases, can be an obstacle to returning to a normal life.
"Our greatest concern is that folks are getting themselves into contracts that they can't afford, and that's going to lead to credit problems later," said Carson Dean, the director of the South Wilmington Street Center, Wake County's homeless shelter.
Still, like most other programs, the shelter does not prohibit cell phones. About a third of the men in its program have them.
Many homeless people avoid credit problems by using prepaid cell phones like Schiff's.
For as little as $20, you can buy a prepaid phone at Wal-Mart and other retailers. The phones are usually good for two months, and then you have to buy additional minutes. Plans vary, but rates can be as low as 25 cents a minute.
Rich Malloy, 53, an unemployed computer programmer staying at the South Wilmington Street Center, said that's a good deal.
"That's less expensive than the two quarters you have to plunk into a pay phone to make a local call," he said.
Paying for minutes ahead of time solves two problems for homeless users: uncertainty about their future finances and the lack of an address where a bill could be sent. It can also help curb the temptation to use the phone too much.
more here:
http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArti cle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137834960837&path=!localnews&s=1037645509099
Prepaid plans make keeping in touch a bit cheaper, they say
Monday, March 27, 2006
RALEIGH NEWS & OBSERVER
Stewart Schiff has everything he needs to get by while living on the streets: a backpack, a sleeping bag and a good pair of shoes.
He also has a cell phone.
Schiff, 41, who has been home-less on and off for eight years, uses his prepaid Virgin Mobile phone to look for work and get messages from potential employers.
"I call it networking," he said while standing in line for a free lunch at the Raleigh Rescue Mission recently. "The more people I know, the better chance I have of getting a job."
Cell phones are increasingly popular among the Triangle's homeless. With public pay phones quietly disappearing and prices on cell phones dropping, many homeless people say that it just makes sense.
But some social workers are concerned. They worry that the phones are an unnecessary expense that, in some cases, can be an obstacle to returning to a normal life.
"Our greatest concern is that folks are getting themselves into contracts that they can't afford, and that's going to lead to credit problems later," said Carson Dean, the director of the South Wilmington Street Center, Wake County's homeless shelter.
Still, like most other programs, the shelter does not prohibit cell phones. About a third of the men in its program have them.
Many homeless people avoid credit problems by using prepaid cell phones like Schiff's.
For as little as $20, you can buy a prepaid phone at Wal-Mart and other retailers. The phones are usually good for two months, and then you have to buy additional minutes. Plans vary, but rates can be as low as 25 cents a minute.
Rich Malloy, 53, an unemployed computer programmer staying at the South Wilmington Street Center, said that's a good deal.
"That's less expensive than the two quarters you have to plunk into a pay phone to make a local call," he said.
Paying for minutes ahead of time solves two problems for homeless users: uncertainty about their future finances and the lack of an address where a bill could be sent. It can also help curb the temptation to use the phone too much.
more here:
http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArti cle&c=MGArticle&cid=1137834960837&path=!localnews&s=1037645509099