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Why Would a Homeless Person Have a Cellphone?
Posted: Sun Apr 03, 2022 10:30 pm
by Turkeytop
If homeless people are broke, how come so many have smartphones?
First, not all homeless are ‘broke’ or ‘poor’. In some cases, they merely do not earn enough money working to handle the monthly expenses of regular housing for the community they are in. Perhaps they have a fixed income such as disability or retirement payments. Prior to (or perhaps after) losing their housing, they may have purchased an expensive smartphone, and converting the phone to any of the various pay-as-you-go plans is often fairly easy, and quite inexpensive. Maintaining a phone as a line of communication with employers, family, doctors, and caseworkers is a necessity.
They could be subscribing to a pay-as-you go service straight up. TracFone smartphones can be bought for as little as $20, and maintaining the minutes and airtime is as cheap as $15 a month. If they have a low enough income to qualify for LifeLine benefits, they might be subscribed to a service such as SafeLink or Assurance, which gives 1000 minutes of talk time, unlimited texting, and 1GB of data free every month and an additional 1GB data and 1000 minutes of talk time can be bought as cheap as $10 (for SafeLink). The government provides the phone and basic phone service.
If you are expecting someone who is using SafeLink or Assurance (or even TracFone if they are ‘broke’) for their phone service to not have a smart phone, think again. You cannot even buy standard featureless bar phones anymore in the US. Most of them run on 2G or 3G systems which have already been shut down by the major carriers, and may not even exist for the minor carriers (none of which participate in LifeLine) if they operate by piggybacking off a major carrier’s service (which is how TracFone, Safelink, and Assurance all operate).
https://www.quora.com/
Re: Why Would a Homeless Person Have a Cellphone?
Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2022 4:55 am
by TC Talks
A cell phone is the single most important tool someone who is experiencing homelessness on the street can own. They can't access family support or jobs without one.
Re: Why Would a Homeless Person Have a Cellphone?
Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2022 7:37 am
by Circle Seven
Some homeless shelters give out phone cards. I know of one that asks folks to donate them.
Re: Why Would a Homeless Person Have a Cellphone?
Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2022 11:52 am
by craig11152
TC Talks wrote: ↑Mon Apr 04, 2022 4:55 am
A cell phone is the single most important tool someone who is experiencing homelessness on the street can own. They can't access family support or jobs without one.
I would argue money is the most important tool. You can use it to aquire food
Re: Why Would a Homeless Person Have a Cellphone?
Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2022 1:25 pm
by Matt
If homeless people have a smartphone, are they middle class?
Re: Why Would a Homeless Person Have a Cellphone?
Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2022 4:02 pm
by kager
Re: Why Would a Homeless Person Have a Cellphone?
Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2022 7:28 pm
by Turkeytop
Matt wrote: ↑Mon Apr 04, 2022 1:25 pm
If homeless people have a smartphone, are they middle class?
Could well be. A lot of the homeless are middle class people who got into trouble with alcohol, gambling, or drugs. Some of them just had bad luck and lost their job and then lost everything.
Re: Why Would a Homeless Person Have a Cellphone?
Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2022 8:05 pm
by TC Talks
craig11152 wrote: ↑Mon Apr 04, 2022 11:52 am
TC Talks wrote: ↑Mon Apr 04, 2022 4:55 am
A cell phone is the single most important tool someone who is experiencing homelessness on the street can own. They can't access family support or jobs without one.
I would argue money is the most important tool. You can use it to aquire food
We have food security in the U.S. fortunately.
Re: Why Would a Homeless Person Have a Cellphone?
Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2022 8:06 pm
by Matt
Turkeytop wrote: ↑Mon Apr 04, 2022 7:28 pm
Matt wrote: ↑Mon Apr 04, 2022 1:25 pm
If homeless people have a smartphone, are they middle class?
Could well be. A lot of the homeless are middle class people who got into trouble with alcohol, gambling, or drugs. Some of them just had bad luck and lost their job and then lost everything.
They're no longer middle class if they are homeless.
Re: Why Would a Homeless Person Have a Cellphone?
Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2022 8:08 pm
by TC Talks
Turkeytop wrote: ↑Mon Apr 04, 2022 7:28 pm
Matt wrote: ↑Mon Apr 04, 2022 1:25 pm
If homeless people have a smartphone, are they middle class?
Could well be. A lot of the homeless are middle class people who got into trouble with alcohol, gambling, or drugs. Some of them just had bad luck and lost their job and then lost everything.
Many people in the United States who are experiencing homelessness lost everything to a medical expense.
I would say 15% of the people in the shelter that I am involved with are dealing with that circumstance. Another five to seven percent are there as a result of a divorce that left them without anywhere to live because we don't have affordable housing in Traverse City.
Re: Why Would a Homeless Person Have a Cellphone?
Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2022 8:49 pm
by Turkeytop
Matt wrote: ↑Mon Apr 04, 2022 8:06 pm
They're no longer middle class if they are homeless.
Oh, right. I forgot. The middle class kicks people out if their luck turns bad and they fall below an arbitrary income threshold.
The working class is the only class without an income floor or ceiling. All are welcome.
I keep hearing whining about the "shrinking middle class." No wonder it's shrinking. They keep expelling their own members.
Re: Why Would a Homeless Person Have a Cellphone?
Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2022 9:07 pm
by Matt
Turkeytop wrote: ↑Mon Apr 04, 2022 8:49 pm
Matt wrote: ↑Mon Apr 04, 2022 8:06 pm
They're no longer middle class if they are homeless.
Oh, right. I forgot. The middle class kicks people out if their luck turns bad and they fall below an arbitrary income threshold.
The working class is the only class without an income floor or ceiling. All are welcome.
I keep hearing whining about the "shrinking middle class." No wonder it's shrinking. They keep expelling their own members.
Classes aren't clubs. There isn't a working class.
Re: Why Would a Homeless Person Have a Cellphone?
Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2022 10:19 pm
by tapeisrolling
Years ago our church participated in a 'rotating shelter' during the winter months to the overflow of the local homeless shelter. All the participants had to meet minimum standards as to not present a problem. One young guy had a beat-up laptop computer and some books. He asked if there was a quieter place to sit because he had a big test coming up in his class at EMU. He said it came down to spending money for an apartment or tuition so he could finish his degree and get a good job.
He chose education to better himself vs the possibility of a hand to mouth existence for the foreseeable future.
Re: Why Would a Homeless Person Have a Cellphone?
Posted: Mon Apr 04, 2022 10:35 pm
by Turkeytop
Matt wrote: ↑Mon Apr 04, 2022 9:07 pm
Classes aren't clubs. There isn't a working class.
There isn't a working class? It's you liberal elitists who always define working class in terms of income.
Re: Why Would a Homeless Person Have a Cellphone?
Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2022 9:37 am
by TC Talks
Turkeytop wrote: ↑Mon Apr 04, 2022 10:35 pm
Matt wrote: ↑Mon Apr 04, 2022 9:07 pm
Classes aren't clubs. There isn't a working class.
There isn't a working class? It's you liberal elitists who always define working class in terms of income.
TT, I for one (knowing your background) have respect for what you have done in your life.
