Angela Cain, Media Community Affairs Director (Indiana)

At Safe Haven of Greater Waterbury in Connecticut, HopeLine phones from Verizon Wireless provide a safety net while also enabling victims to rebuild their lives.

Safe Haven provides emergency shelter and free comprehensive support services to victims and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. Its 15-bed emergency shelter offers food, personal hygiene products and clothing for families staying there, and offers counseling, advocacy and support group information and referrals. Safe Haven’s bilingual, bicultural staff and volunteers also provide legal advocacy, year-round community education, and a 24-hour crisis hotline.

Verizon Wireless has supported Safe Haven for more than 10 years and many of its clients have benefited from the essential connection of a HopeLine phone. Here are some of their stories:

• A domestic violence victim who lived alone had an ex-boyfriend who broke in and ripped her landline phone out of the wall. She was not able to replace it, but was given a HopeLine phone, which she slept with under her pillow. The next time he broke in, she was able to call the police with the HopeLine phone and he was arrested.
• A domestic violence victim with Parkinson’s disease who is homebound and the mother of two small boys used a HopeLine phone as a “lifeline” to stay in touch with her doctor, attorney and children’s school.
• A domestic violence victim with an abusive husband who listened in on her calls and installed hidden cameras in their home was able to escape to safety by planning an escape plan with the help of Safe Haven and a HopeLine phone.
• A domestic violence victim went through a divorce, lost everything, including her phone. She was given a HopeLine phone and was able to secure a job as a home health aide. One night she was driving home from work when her car broke down in the middle of nowhere. She used her HopeLine phone to call for help.

Providing a Life Line in Pittsburgh – Crisis Center North

At Crisis Center North in Pittsburgh, a HopeLine phone is one of the cornerstones in helping a domestic abuse victim leave an abusive situation and get their life in order. "HopeLine is a heaven-sent lifeline of safety," says Sue Milles, the Center's Case Manager.

Crisis Center North has served domestic violence victims in the Pittsburgh area since 1974. It offers a 24-hour hotline, counseling, emergency housing, advocacy services, parenting classes and case management services. The Center has used HopeLine phones since 2000.

For many of the Center's clients, the phones literally act as a lifeline for them.

"A common story we hear from our clients is how they are not allowed to use the phone at home or how the phone is ripped out of the wall so they can't use it," Milles said. “This is done to control and isolate them so they can't get help and leave. The phones come to symbolize a first step in independence and control that survivors can assert over their life.”

It isn’t uncommon for clients of the Center to have been without a phone for years and thus unable to keep in touch with family and friends. The HopeLine phones help victims relay news to loved ones, call for help if a situation escalates and work with the center to plan their escape. Milles remembers a client saying how she clutched the phone when she first got it, thinking of how she now could call anyone if she needed to and how help was now accessible to her.

The phones also act as a lifeline for thosewho have recently left an abusive relationship and are getting their new life in order.

"Leaving an abusive situation is a giant leap, and a time when every aspect of their life is turned upside down," comments Milles. “They leave their home, friends, and sometimes family behind and may have to be in hiding for their safety, constantly being moved around from emergency shelters. A HopeLine phone acts as a constant, something secure, during a time when not much else in their life is."

Aside from the emotional benefits of having a HopeLine phone during a transitional time, there are the practical benefits.

Most of the clients of the center have old, unreliable cars, if they have cars at all. A HopeLine phone allows them to call for help if their car breaks down or arrange for a ride. Abusers are controlling and a breakdown when a victim is supposed to be home could be telling and potentially ruin any plans to leave.

A survivor's address may change, but their phone number will not, and that is important. "Their employer or potential employers have a way to contact them about work schedules, interviews and such,” Milles added. “And, while their abuser may be in jail, all too often they get out on bail or serve a short sentence."

In Pennsylvania, where the center is located, it is required that an attempt be made to notify victims when their abuser is to be released from jail. Having a phone number that is the same allows officials to notify the victim so they can be on alert.

"For someone who is used to always looking over their shoulder, always fearful, giving them a phone lets them know they can call the police,” Milles said. “I feel safer, and so do they. Sometimes that phone can mean life or death. When they walk out of the center, I know I've done something worthwhile. I know I've done something to keep them safe."

Essential Connections in Texas – The Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Inc.

Making positive connections—and breaking negative ones—is essential for victims of domestic violence. They must disconnect from dangerous situations and their perpetrators, and they must connect with and have access to safety. By using HopeLine phones and service, The Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Inc. in Pasadena, Texas, helps its clients do both.

Established in 1978, The Bridge Over Troubled Waters, Inc. (The Bridge) assists women and children in crisis, particularly survivors of domestic violence, sexual assault and homelessness. Services provided by The Bridge include a 24-hour crisis hotline, emergency and transitional shelter, hospital and court accompaniment, counseling and advocacy services, child care, and support groups. Serving more than 20,000 people annually, The Bridge is one of the largest crisis intervention and prevention centers of its kind in Texas. The Bridge has received HopeLine phones from Verizon Wireless since 2006.
“A cell phone may be the only line to safety for a person in a dangerous situation,” says Deborah Moseley, executive director of The Bridge. “That cell phone could save her life.”

“Our clients also use the HopeLine phones to connect with friends and family, to let their loved ones know that they are safe,” Moseley adds. “It’s important to connect victims with the people—friends, family, co-workers, whoever—who can help them get on the path to a better life.”

HopeLine phones have even assisted The Bridge itself in its time of need. When a severe storm wreaked havoc on Pasadena and its surrounding areas in 2006, The Bridge’s 24-hour crisis hotline was knocked out of service. However, The Bridge was able to transfer its hotline to a HopeLine phone as a temporary fix, allowing women in distress to reach the help they needed.

“We had the hotline operating on the HopeLine phone for about an hour and a half,” Moseley recalls. “And that phone was busy during that time.”

From contacting loved ones, to providing connections to emergency help, The Bridge has implemented HopeLine phones in ways that help clients build better lives.