A significant number of seniors do not own a cell phone either because they feel it is unnecessary, or due to financial constraints of purchasing a cell phone and a cellular service plan, according to Cook County Sheriff Tom Dart’s Office.
To address this issue, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office created the Cell Phone for Seniors Program in 2006 providing free emergency 911 cell phones to seniors aged 60 and above, as well as to adults with disabilities who do not own a cell phone.
Dart’s office specified that the Cell Phone for Seniors Program was modeled after programs used by police departments across the nation.
His office acknowledged that senior citizens tended to have an aversion to technology, but found that once having a 911 cell phone, they appreciated the connection the phones allowed them to have with family members and emergency services.
“In this day and age, having a cell phone to report emergencies is required,” said Dart. “Our program helps our older residents by providing them with a free cell phone that can call 9-1-1. It also helps our environment by allowing our community members to drop off cell phones they no longer need at convenient locations across the county instead of throwing them away. The program is a win for everyone, and I encourage our residents who either need cell phones or would like to donate them to give us a call.”
Cook County residents can help their neighbors by donating their unused and unwanted phones or dropping off their cell phones for recycling at one of the Cook County Sheriff’s onsite locations.
“The Sheriff’s Cell Phones for Seniors Program is supported by cell phone donations from the general public. Any brand, make, or model of cellular telephone, whether it is working or not, is accepted at a number of convenient locations throughout Cook County,” Dart said.
The Sheriff’s Office recognized that many adults may be wary of their data being completely wiped from their donated or recycled cell phones. Dart said his office partners with the 911 Cell Phone Bank, a charitable recycling foundation that wipes and converts cellphones into 911 emergency devices for seniors and adults with disabilities.
“We utilize state-of-the-art data-clearing software, and erasure is documented internally. The software is certified to provide data erasure to the latest DOD 5220.22-M standards and is continually being updated as advances are made in the technology for clearing these devices. We check to confirm data erasure at least three times during processing. Items that are damaged or unusable are securely disposed of through an ISO 14001 R2 certified recycler,” says the 911 Cell Phone’s Bank website.
Dart’s office said there has never been a case of information falling into the wrong hands; nor has a donated phone ever been a security issue.
Ald. Marty Quinn’s 13th Ward Service Office at 6500 S. Pulaski serves as one of the collection sites. Residents can bring their old cell phones to his office, drop them off in a secure location, and help a neighbor have access to a lifeline.
Quinn has partnered over the past 20 years with the Cook County Sheriff’s Office for numerous senior-related programs, like the Senior Law Enforcement Academy and the Cell Phones for Seniors Program. He was there for the latter’s inception and was the first large-scale distribution event for the 911-only cell phones.
Dart credited early success to Quinn. “At that time, distributions were a big part of the program–often giving away several hundred 911-only cell phones each week.”
Seniors and adults with a disability, or their loved ones, can request one of the Sheriff’s 911 cell phones after completing the 3-page application form. Cook County Residents looking to donate their old phones can or receive an application to receive one of the Sheriff’s 911 emergency cell phones, can visit www.cookcountysheriffil.gov or call the Cook County Sheriff’s Office at 708-865-7333
I would be anxiously awaiting this phone. I am a senior and don’t make enough money to even pay my rent and I’m in a senior apartment complex.. then the government took my food card away from me. I lived in a big house and I’m now living in one room what more do they want ,blood I can’t believe how the government dismisses the seniors they take away a lot more than they give and almost leave you indigent