Take Two translates the day’s headlines for Southern California, making sense of the news and cultural events that affect our lives. Produced by Southern California Public Radio and broadcast from October 2012 – June 2021. Hosted by A Martinez.
California's homeless are cutting the cord.
The Lifeline program gives discounted landline phone service to nearly 1.5 million poor people in the state, but starting this week, cell phones are now an option, too. That's good news for a specific segment of the population: the homeless.
Jennifer Freidenbach is the executive director of the San Francisco Coalition on Homelessness, and she explains that cells are increasing important "for folks to keep in contact with their employer or looking for a jobs."
To qualify, you must earn less than $14,702 a year. Then you're eligible for a free phone plus a plan with 250 minutes and 250 texts.
"If someone's outside and they witness an emergency situation or some kind of violence," says Freidenbach, "they're unable to call for help. So it's really important that folks have access to telecommunications whether you're housed or not."