Bell Atlantic Mobile Phone Donation Provides Wireless Protection To Victims Of Domestic Violence In The Bronx

Bell Atlantic Mobile Phone Donation Provides Wireless Protection To Victims Of Domestic Violence In The Bronx

12,000 Incidents Reported In 1996, Representing Over 26% Of All Cases In New York City

30 de septiembre de 1997

BRONX, NY -- Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson met today with

Bell Atlantic Mobile officials to accept the donation of 10 wireless

phones. The donation expands the company's efforts to arm victims of

domestic violence with powerful wireless technology that provides a

critical lifeline to police.

The phones, specially programmed to dial 9-1-1 at the touch of a

button and put victims in immediate contact with police, will be

distributed to women at risk.

"Having wireless phones in hand will allow these women to go about

their day-to-day lives with less fear," Johnson said. "They can go

to work, run errands or visit family and friends, secure in the

knowledge that, if the abuser appears, help will be on the way in

seconds."

The women who will use the phones are separated from their abusers,

and many have restraining orders.

"Women really need a way to summon help instantly from wherever they

are," Johnson said. "Without these phones, domestic violence victims

often are afraid to leave their homes. That's why we went to Bell

Atlantic Mobile with our request for wireless phones."

In 1996, nearly 12,000 incidents of domestic violence were reported to

police in the Bronx alone, representing over 26% of all domestic

violence cases reported in New York City.

"It is our hope these phones will never have to be used to report an

emergency, but if such an emergency occurs, we know help is just a

call away," said Rick Conrad, president of Bell Atlantic Mobile's New

York/New Jersey metro region. "This donation is a continuation of our

"Wireless At Work" community service program designed to bring the

benefits of wireless technology to victims of domestic violence.

These women just want to rebuild their lives, and our company is proud

to give them tools that will help them."

In the past year, Bell Atlantic Mobile donated over 300 wireless

phones to New York/New Jersey agencies to help women and children at

risk. The company also has donated its HopeLine® wireless voice mail

service to homeless and battered women's shelters throughout the NY/NJ

metro region. Hopeline provides a confidential number that victims

can leave with prospective employers, landlords, and social service

agencies, as they search for jobs and housing.

Bell Atlantic Mobile is the largest wireless service provider on the

East Coast and the second largest in the United States. The company

owns and operates the most extensive network in the East, covering

111,000 square miles, and the largest chain of wireless retail outlets

offering a full range of wireless personal communications services,

including voice, data, and paging. Based in Bedminster, NJ, Bell

Atlantic Mobile has more than five million customers and 7,000

employees in the Northeast, mid-Atlantic, Southeast, and, through a

separate subsidiary, in the Southwest. The company is the chief

wireless subsidiary of the new Bell Atlantic, formed through the

merger of Bell Atlantic and NYNEX corporations.