Free Government Cell Phones
If you are a low income individual or come from a low income household, you may have already applied for many government assistance programs. These may include Food Stamps, Medicaid, energy assistance, and housing assistance. You may think that there are no more programs you could apply for but there is one more. Recently, I applied for the free government cell phones program. Through this program, I was able to get a free mobile phone and free airtime minutes.
There are several companies that offer this program. The two major ones are Safelink Wireless and Assurance Wireless. I picked Safelink because they had the program available where I lived. They might not be available in every state of the U.S., so you can try Assurance Wireless if that is the case. You can check to see if the program is available where you live by going to their website and putting in your zip code. The program is subsidized by the government and therefore in order to qualify you have to show proof of your income eligibility. Your household income must not reach above whatever limits the state sets. Just about anyone can apply including seniors, students, disabled people, families, or just about anyone that is in the low income range. From the Safelink website, you will find the application for the free cell phone service. Once you send in the application and everything is set, you should get your free phone and free minutes. You would probably get about 250 free minutes per month. You would also need to send in an income verification form every year that you plan on using the program.
This free phone service is meant for poor people who have no access to phones so that they can make emergency calls and keep in touch with the world. When you start using your phone, you may want to keep an eye on the amount of minutes that you use. It can be very easy to use up all those free minutes if you are not careful. They do have the option to refill your card if you were to run out but that would cost money. As for me, I never had any problem in keeping my phone usage under control. It is a great program for people like me.
Cell phones for disabled is a blessing i am in a wheel chair and if i go our and break down or anything i can call for help
The free phones came to my area today. You would be amazed at the young people who gathered to get their free phone. One guy said I called all my friends on welfare, food stamps or what ever. To go get their free phone the government is paying for them. I guess he doesn’t know who the government is. Our taxes are paying the bill. The most disturbing part was he said as soon as I got my phone I called that m fing wh that has a kid she says is mine what a pig she is. So my tax dollars paid for what????
a j smith, you show me where it cost you anything for the poor and the disabled to have government cell phones.
How dare you besmirch people who need help?
I’d like to know who the “one guy” is you talked with since I tend to think he is likely a figment of your imagination.
Try being less judgmental about others and more discerning concerning yourself.
The cell phones are not as great as people who are not low income would like to think.
For one thing, you only get 250 minutes a month, they don’t roll over, and apparently talking to someone who calls YOU eats up YOUR phone minutes as well. There are no free nights or weekends.
This is basically an emergency phone or something you can call to get you doctor’s appointments on. That’s it. They’re nothing fancy; refurbished models that are at least five years old.
All it does is help ensure that people can get help when they need it instead of being stranded somewhere because they don’t have money for a cell phone.
it would be helpful to me as I am disabled and don’t need anything fancy.Safety is my concern as I have had some falls and hd to wait hours for help.
You can buy a Tracphone for little money…a very basic phone and for $20, you will get 60 minutes of phone service for 90 days. I find it hard to believe that there are people….even on disability …who cannot afford this….IF the phone is suppose to be for emergency purposes, then 60 minutes should be sufficient. Also, you would then be less dependent upon the government….or is that an alien conception??
Sorry…correction…alien concept…NOT conception, LOL
Hey, Ginger Earl…using the wrong words is not …lol…at all. The elderly that have worked all there lives and …live on less the 800.00 a month, are not taking advantage of the system. So you really should investigate or research a little more before you make such a *&%^$# comment. There are and will always be those who will abuse any situation, but that should not take away from those that have done their part in life. Also in your previous comment you stated anyone can buy a cell phone for $20 for 60 min….duh…free phone are 250 min. and when someone that can’t walk are has medical issues and needs to call a doctor or anything else….sorry 60 min. just might not work for them. You must be very young and think you know it all or you have plenty of money and have no clue on how some people live. Either way…you sound ridiculous and should now stop with your opinions because they make no sense. Oh yeah…coming from a 61 year old….find your dictionary…PLEASE…you might want to find your spell check as well!
Sure, anyone can buy a Tracfone, Cricket or the like for $20,but some people have to decide whether to use $20 for medicine, food or gas for a car, instead of a phone. People who are disabled, or retired and are on social security, aren’t dependent on the government. Workers contribute a percentage of their income to the government specifically to fund disability and social security for when they need it. Believe it, Ginger, some people may not have $20 for a cell because of limited incomes of $500-$1000 a month. Hve you tried living on less than $1000 a month in this economy?
most of those phones are for welfare people, young people having kids that are to lazy to work, have kids that they make tax payers pay for.
How can you say that you find it hard to believe that someone couldn’t afford a $20 phone… That is the most ridiculous thing I have seen someone post in a long time. Take that WHOPPING $1000 my dad gets a month and pay your house payment and homeowners insurance with it. Next try to buy the cheapest food available on the market and lets not forget gas is $4 a gallon and oh yeah you have to have insurance on your vehicle no matter what and most likely you have a car payment. By my super duper calculations I’m pretty sure that the $1000 is long gone and it’s only the first of the month for medicare recipients. I have a great idea lets let them not pay all of their utility bills instead of getting a free cell phone. actually this would be better sensing you have so much extra cash laying around that we could use a tax increase so that medicaid and medicare recipients don’t have to pay utilities at all. Don’t complain about something you don’t know jack about!!!!!
Verve,
I agree with you. I only get $830.00 per month. I pay $650.00 for rent and thank God I don’t have to pay for the utilities, but when I pay for bus tickets, there is barely $100.00 left for food.
There are many people that don’t have any income at all, so $20 dollars means a great deal to them. Thank you for saying what you did.
Bella
what did he do his whole life, most people work , put something aside for retirement, get your house paid off. hard to live off just social security
Ginger, I am pretty sure you haven’t been at a situation where you do not have enough to even buy food because you have to pay for your home and medicine. Even a dollar is hard to shell out if you have to prioritize between medicine/food/shelter over a $20/month phone.
Why don’t you work 2 jobs a day and give everything you don’t spend to help others if you’re so concerned about people needing help from the government?
Try living outside your own head for a while
I think the program is wonderful for people that can really use it.There
will always be the ones out there first line that abuses the system
but that’s just the way it is.
My problem is, I need a cell phone that is the ‘slider’-style. I dropped the ‘flip phone’-style several times, because of my eye-hand coordination problem. I also need one with big(not monstrous) keys.
The ‘slider’ phones that are available now, have smaller buttons, and a higher SAR(Specific Absorption Rate) rating.
HOW CAN I GET A FREE CELL PHONE?
When phones first came out it was no problem at all getting a phone but I mistakenly waited to long to get my phone reactivated and I have been getting a different answer each time I called in even though I sent in four different times awards as required as well as requested yet I have had any added time put on my phone sending in vital information using a fax machine is very dangerous with so very much fraud here there and everywhere and even though a phone is a material and naked we come naked we go for the owner of these phones to bless those who really do need a free phone should be a blessing indeed and one bad apple should never spoil the whole barrel as the owner of these free cell phones have no respective of person enclosing if I would not have sent proof four times that I do qualify it would not me feel so bad but I did even though I took a big risk of I D theft now I have put it in the hands of the man who owns everybody and everything and he want me to be blessed with getting air time free then so shall it be this man that I am talking about name is JESUS THE CHRIST THE MAN WHO COMES FIRST IN MY LIFE. MAY GFOD CONTINUE ALL OF THOSE WHO WORK FOR THE SYSTEM. THANKS L. G.
To whom it may concern I meant to say award letters as proof just in case reading it he way I typed it confuse anyone and may God continue to bless those who work with the system if I made anymore errors on my comments please accept them for love and not for a mistake as my intentions are for good not bad for right not wrong and for better not worse until the man I serve see it fitting to bless me with his very best thanks L.G.
I became disabled at 40 after 8 years of college and working from age 17. I am on Social Security Disability. I have a basic good Verizon phone. Almost no one tells you about this plan. You pay $100 in advance. Any day you call on the phone it’s $2.00 no matter how many times you call on the phone that day. If you text it’s only 25 cents for that day no matter how much you text. I do all my calling on one day for business matters, doctor appts. etc. It costs me $10 a month. With this plan the phone is free. When you ask about it, several employees may act like they don’t know what you’re talking about, I even show them my phone, and say look up this number and the plan. I want to renew it. Finally I got it for the 2nd year in a row through the manager. I think you can call all day if you wanted twice a week on this plan and not even reach $90. Your money doesn’t roll over. The phone has video and a camera too. I understand needing low cost.
I forgot to say, the free phone with the advance pay of $100 is for a 10 month period the last time I renewed it. Again, it doesn’t roll to the next year, but it gives you at least 2 days a week of good talk time if you need it, without reaching the $100 mark. I have it mostly for emergencies.
Forgive my math. That’s one day a week of phone calls all day if you want, plus a few extra days during that 10 months. It’s still a very good deal. Free is even better if you need that. Pease don’t take advantage.
This is NOT paid for by taxes as uninformed claim. It is plans provided by the cell industry to
provide help for those who need phone contact.
Its unfortunate when ignorant, uninformed people try to turn this into political hatred. thanks to the cell companies.
get a free phone for my brother, who is mentally challanged and homeless, is on disability, and gets food stamps, he says he applied that they send them to you. Well,
Peter you are homeless.
Please help
maggee
The program that provides free phones for low income families is called SafeLink. Again, this is a government supported free cell phone program. Not only is it for low income families, but also provides free cell phone service for disabled persons, and the elderly. It was created by TracFone who pays for the cell phones and for the cost for promoting it’s SafeLink program to consumers. No tax dollars are used to pay for the phones. The program is funded by the telecommunications companies. SafeLink has over 2 million customers in the program. It is currently available in 31 states. With that being said I don’t think any of us tax payers are paying for this service and secondly do not judge unless ye be judged how can you cast a stone unless you are free from sin and you cant be free of sin unless your god
TAG Mobile offers free smartphone (only on online sign-ups) under government lifeline program for low income families with 500 free minutes and unlimited global messaging every month.