Why Should the Homeless Be Allowed Cell Phones?

I deeply admire your passion in this article. We have so many poor people in the Philippines and I think that there is no reason why they shouldn't own a phone, even if they decide to sell theirs for a meal. But I only came to realize this after reading your article. Thank you for opening up my mind and for seeing that I can do something meaningful with my old phones.

Now that's a bunch of crap. Homeless people do not have a home phone. The only way to get a job is by having a phone number. If you take away the homeless person's right to having a cellphone, you might as well take away their right to live.

This is fishy. Once you get homeless, there are tons of people that try to keep you homeless and yet they complain that they are homeless.

People like them contribute to the problem of homelessness.

But don't feel bad, because I don't have a cellphone. I'm staying off the grid so these sick people can't find me to make my life any worse.

If I were homeless, you can bet I would own a cell phone. The streets are dangerous, and 9-11 is a free call on cell phones. Should they have to sleep near pay phones?

Republicans love telling poor people to sell their cell phones. Selling your used cell phone is not going to bring you into the middle class.

Can't make them like you! Hubs that is, you really do a great job. The Donate your cell phones link is a very nice touch as well.

Homeless people for sure need cell phones, every one does! Voted up/Awesome.

Well, with all the upgrades of new cell phones coming out (i.e. Apple & Android systems), why not have phone businesses donate some of the trade-in ones to local homeless shelters for a tax credit (listen up politicians) and give that particular phone 100 minutes or the shelter can use it at a discount plan.

If you & I can get unlimited domestic calling; for a flat fee and we don't use them all each month. I am sure 100 minutes will give some of the homeless more confidence. It will help these unfortunate people get work and become productive. Like it or not, tough times are here for quite some time for whomever took office 2008, 2012, & 2016. The economies worldwide need a big change in how they are run to re-invigorate themselves. The country will be back stronger in due time. So, if we help each other a little more things will change for the better.

Why should we be allowed to have children without permits? Why Should we be able to get married? I mean REALLY? These people have already been abandoned by a government that charges SOCIALIST TAXES on it's working people and then claims Capitalism ONLY when we want these programs that we pay for enforced! The fact that a single AMERICAN is homeless is a REAL tragedy, especially because most of them are FORMER US SOLDIERS! That is something we should be ashamed of. Our people who sacrificed everything to uphold our values, dismissed by OUR PEOPLE! Disgusting! Then to EVEN DISCUSS if homeless people should be allowed the power of communication.... We really should all hold our heads in shame!

All cell phones whether active or not can dial emergency services (911), in our area people donate cell phones they don't need anymore and they are distributed to the needy. In reality if your a homeless person, you can't afford to pay a monthly fee for a phone, I seriously doubt that same homeless person would even have the money to use a pay phone other than for dialing 911. The problem here is the same problem that affects everything...the good have to suffer for the bad. If you made free cell phone coverage available for the homeless, how many people would cheat the system, apply for and receive these phone and use them for God knows what(perhaps dealing drugs). Interesting topic though...keep up the good work.

Ah Patty great offering here... it seems as the old prejudices of race and sexuality have grown out of favor (at least for bigots to mention out in the open) they have turned to any other weak group that can be attacked.

To me it speaks volumes of the nature of those who have been rewarded too much. Some people, it would seem, have been given many, many rewards either for their labor or their family's wealth, and rather than reach out to help those with less than them, it is easier to attack those with less as somehow being thieves or worse creating their own circumstance. How is a trust fund kid, who has never worked a day in his life, not a thief himself?

Maybe it is also a knee-jerk reaction/condemnation for ordinary people when they see someone begging for money and then making a call from their cell phone. They probably think of their own massive cell phone bill (my family's bill is so large it takes me a week of work to pay off every month...) They probably don't realize all the charitable phone options that you mention.

Times have changed but not everyone's outlook has kept up. The next time you hear someone complain about the homeless, just think of those people as having rotary-phone-brains in a cellular phone collective conscience.

Lots of love from Wisconsin!

Ben Zoltak

What a fantastic hub Patty. This is one of the best ways to help someone in this awful position. A cell phone and a charger would help a homeless person tremendously, they wouldn't even need to have credit on it. Here in the Uk we have something called Oyster cards which pretty much everyone has, regardless of how much you earn, to travel in london, its also discounted travel if you use one. it's £1.30 to travel by bus with an Oyster but i think its £2.20 if you pay cash! Oysters are not that easy to get as most places that sell them make you fill a form out and put money on it. I feel they should make them available to homeless people. Love, love, love this this Hub

There are times when I am disgusted with society. And there are times that ,with all the problems Canada has in her own government, I am so happy that I live where I do. This whole question is a great example of one of those times.

Homeless people are still people so they should really have whatever we have. Some people still live off old family fortunes made years ago and today cant do anything helpful. Others have to find their own way to success. I knew a few homeless people who worked as maids/cooks with middle class people who can afford a house but not a home worker for minimum wage. So in turn they got a place to live, a couple dollars an hour, and were allowed to eat and watch tv with the rest of the family. They were treated as part of the family and often took care of the kids. They had anything the homeowners did, computer access, phone monthly time, and a car to use. Too bad there wasn't more of these kinds of storys for the thousands now.

~thranax~

I agree with many of the above comments. For a time, long ago and far away I lived on the streets. It wasn't called homeless then, and I believe, was after the era that one would be called a hobo. Back then, yes public pay phones were available. Pan-handling would net enough to place a call at .10 cents. Today they are gone. I have seen a pay phone booth represented as an historical item.

I was un-employed for much of the past summer. Thank God or any other higher power that I am employed again. A cell phone, pay as you go, or otherwise was an imperative item to become employed again. That would be especially true for anyone finding themselves with no home. I cannot understand the issue that some people may have about any homeless person having a cell phone.

We do live in a cellular age.

If ex-offenders and homeless people do not have phones to place in job applications or be able to call the police when crimes occur against the homeless because people are bias to them because of their sitaution then we are committing the crime against the human race. We have to give people the ability to be self supportive to improve their circumstances..........how cold hearted can you be......it is not all about you, there are others on this earth that need assistance........

May I point out that most of the payphones have disappered from EVERYWHERE due to cell phones becoming ubiquitous.

Its hard enough for a homeless person to get a job without an address, cell phones are probably more useful for a homeless person than the rest of us. Its their one connection to their network of supporters. What good is it to go to the library and apply for work online if you have no phone or address to be contacted. Cell phones are probably reducing homelessness, and crimes against the homeless.

Well, Valerie, I hear your opinion loud and clear. But it still only applies to a percentage of people who are actually homeless or "poor" as you put it.

You can either put all of the blame on the capitalists like you choose to, or you can accept that not everyone is 100% innocent.

Bad apples do, unfortunately, spoil the whole bunch.

If I hear one more person indicate that the homeless, or any of the other unemployed in this current recession, don't want to "get a job," I am going to explode!!!!! In the first place, why should anyone want to work for minimum wage if he or she could earn $60,000 holding a homeless sign? At least, the woman in ohio was earning enough to notice, and not lining the pockets of someone who is able to live a life of luxury at the expense of those who do the work. The problem is not the poor, but those at the top of our capitalistic system who abuse the masses, their staff and employees, as if they were slaves. The problem is not laziness, but lack of motivation to work on a little job in which you receive no benefits or enough money to support yourself. I have 7 years of formal education, and many more years of experience working for organizations in which the privilidged few had all the choices, top pay and benefits. Those at the top need to be regulated, and scream socialism all you want to do, but profit needs to be shared with those who do the work. cell phones today are the only phones many use or have. They are not a status symbol or luxury. A homeless person needs a cell phone to even look for work, since he or she obviously can't have a landline, now can he or she? Places like Walmart ought to have to hire all FULL time staff, and give them every one benefits. I work on a part time job, as many do these days, at minimum wage, and if I had not inherited my parents' home at their death, I'd be homeless myself. I'm sick of hearing proud people pass judgment on the poor, when those same proud people should be grateful, not proud. I quit, but had to speak my mine.

I don't begrudge anyone a simple working cellphone.

I do, however, know of many panhandlers in Vermont who are quite aware that they are taking advantage of kind hearted individuals in lieu of actually getting a job.

This isn't me being presumptuous. I too have been homeless on many occasions and the reason I am not currently homeless is because I worked my way out of it.

It absolutely outrages me what people do sometimes. Taking away something that could essentially save a person's life in some situations. *tsk tsk* Just because they're homeless is no reason to take ANYTHING away from them.

While I don't really like to admit it, not out of shame, but more worrying if others will look down upon me, I have been homeless multiple times in my life. Some times due to bad choices I made, others were just bad luck.

I learned rather quickly that having a cell phone is key to getting a job and pulling myself up from being homeless. A P.O box is also very helpful, but since 9/11 the government all but makes this impossible for a homeless person. There are ways if you know the loopholes.

About 2 years ago I was sleeping in my Army sleeping bag when I was woke up by a stranger wanting to "borrow" my scooter that is chained to the fence beside me. I'm like sorry but I don't think so. So then his pregnant girlfriend pulls out a big knife, hands it to him and then he threatens my life. "Give me the scooter or else I take it!"

I gave him the keys as it was all I could do considering I was zipped up to my neck and rather helpless to defend myself.

As he was pulling away he said "don't call the police, I promise to return it." As I'm saying "I won't" I have dialed 911 inside my sleeping bag out of his view. The instant he pulled off I hit 'send'.

Literally 5 minutes later the cops called me back, had him in custody and my scooter was waiting for me.

To those who would have taken away my cell and would have left me helpless to fight back when my property was stolen and my life was threatened I say: You people really suck! Bah @ you.

A cell phone is crucial to getting a job again and for safety reasons. If society does nothing else for the homeless, it should help those who want to get a job and off the streets with a cheap cell phone. Sorry this was a bit long but I feel I have really added to this topic.

People really need to think before they speak. How do they know the homeless person didn't already own the phone before they became homeless? How do you know that the cell phone is not being paid for by a family member? Just because a picture was snapped, doesn't necessarily mean there was minutes on the phone anyway. I have a prepaid phone, and I can still take pictures, regardless of whether there are minutes on it. Besides, homeless people have just as much of a need for cell phones as anyone else. Don't those people know that pay phones are becoming more and more obsolete? Where can you find one anymore, especially in an emergency? If there is a homeless woman on the street, and she is about to be raped or attacked, why does she not have the right to have a phone with her wherever she goes to report the incident to the police? Comments like these about the homeless really make my blood boil.

I actually recommend cellphones for homeless people in an article I recently wrote - having a cell phone and a PO box are about the only way a homeless person can apply for a job! For $30 a person can buy a cheap cellphone including the activation minutes for three months. After that they only need pay like $20 every three months. It's a job hunting and survival tool. It doubles as an alarm clock for keeping appointments and getting to work on time.

Also, the 911 aspect should not be ignored. Homeless peaople are frequently assaulted and it could make the difference between life and death in many cases.

Thanks hippatrick - great visit from you.

Paper Moon - thanks for that share, because it's a great lesson!

When I was in Philly, it seemed that the uproar was about people receiving foodstamps should not get icecream. As if they should never enjoy themselves. I thought a lot about what that said about people who raise their voices to point fingers. I found the whole point to be rubbish. I have people at the bottom at the place where I work, who work full time and have been homeless for at least some time while working there. They needed phones. People who point too much, well..... beware of karma.

Such an eye opening and a different hub for hubmob. I am with Patty circumstances are the reason.

One of my pet peeves as well, people are so quick to judge and so resistent to trying to better understand a situation they don't (understand). Life is convenient when you have black and white rules to live by but in reality it probably means you've never walked in another person's shoes.

That's just profoundly stupid to object to the homeless having a phone. I wonder how the objectors would feel if they suddenly had no way to make/cancel appointments, seek a new job, check to see if family and frends are alright. I mean eeesh, what about people in natural disasters who become homeless? It's not thei fault nature conspired ageinst them. Rediculous. I wonder if cell phones have made the treatment of the menally ill easier since they are reachable now? I know at one point the vast majority of homeless were mentally ill, which is probably still the case. Hmmm.

I have also heard of a program that offers an emergency cell phone, with a small number of minutes to people on welfare programs, such as medicaid or food stamps. If a homeless person works, they would need a phone, in order to be in touch with their work, just like you and I would. Since they have no home, a home phone would be a little impossible.

Well, if you deny them a cell phone, what is the next step? Deny them the right to be on the street. Feny them the right to go and get something to eat. Deny them the right to be human.

If you want to control them to the extent of what they should or should not be allowed, then something is lacking in your moral, religious make up. Go to a country were you do not allow free thought.

Give the homeless some form of dignity unless you can adopt a homeless family and take care of them look after there health insurances etc., then you can talk. Then and only then can you exercise control over them, not all only the ones you are responsible for.

If they can pay for it, it is their business. It is none of any of our business to judge them and say they should be saving their money for shelter, etc.

Good topic, as always.

Keep on hubbing.

Being able to communicate is a fundamental right. Interesting ideas. Thumbs up

In the wonderful world with abundant food and technology is it absolutely appauling and greedy that people suggest the homeless should not have cell phones.  We have quite a few homeless people in our community, yes some of them have cell phones, but I will tell you I am glad they do because they need these for their protection.  When you are homeless sometimes in are out in the elements and do not have protection from people that can attack you. 

I talked to one family that was so poor they were living in an orange field and they were attacked and mugged, but they did not have a cell phone to call the police.  Really how can people be so uncaring and unfeeling?  We throw away and recycle so many cell phones and honestly it would not hurt to give homeless people free cell phones.  I think we could go a step further and provide housing and jobs for all those who want it, and I do not care if people think that sounds too socialistic.  We could heal this economy and help each other if we all got together and really wanted to.

Great hub~ I agree, who cares if homeless people have cell phones? Are they not worthy of at the very least...access to 911 service? Of course they are... I've donated several phones to those drop boxes. I don't know where they go, and I really don't care, as long as somebody finds it useful. Until then, it collects dust in a drawer somewhere.

And any homeless person who is actively seeking employment or already working toward improving their own life should be applauded. Homelessness is too often an excuse for not being able to do anything. Thanks for the read!