Rep Shea Seeks Donations Of Used Cell Phones For Battered Women

HARTFORD — If you have a cell phone that you no longer are using, it could help protect a woman trying to escape an abusive relationship from being harmed again, State Representative Pat Shea (R-Monroe/Newtown) said this week.

Under a program initiated at the Connecticut General Assembly, used cell phones with chargers can be dropped off at the Monroe Police Department. They will be reprogrammed to dial 9-1-1 only and distributed at women’s shelters and by counselors to battered women. Rep Shea will pick up the phones and chargers at the Police Department and bring them to Hartford for reprogramming.

“This is a very worthwhile program that can protect battered women from further attacks by abusive former spouses or boyfriends,” Rep Shea said. “It gives women who are in imminent danger of being attacked instant access to their local Police Departments. If the abuser should approach her, all a battered woman needs to do is push a button to be connected to a police emergency dispatcher.”

“Police will arrive on the scene within minutes of receiving the distress call,” Rep Shea said. “The pre-programmed cell phones will work whether the victim is on the street, in an automobile, in a store, at the movies, or at home. They will enable women who are trying to escape abusive relationships to live normal lives once again, knowing that help is just a phone call away.

“The cell phone program also should help reduce attacks on battered women,” continued the representative. “If an abuser knows that his intended victim is carrying an emergency cell phone, he will think twice before violating a protective order and confronting her. If we can get more of these cell phones into the hands of battered women, we can substantially reduce the incidence of such assaults in Connecticut.”

Rep Shea noted that the program is voluntary and does not involve the expenditure of state funds.

For more information on the program, call Rep Shea at home at 203/268-5598 or at her Capitol office at 800/842-1423.