Who Knew? It’s National Telephone Discount Lifeline Awareness Week
By Jon Whiten • Sep 15th, 2009 • Category: Blog
There seems to be a week or a day designated for everything, but National Telephone Discount Lifeline Awareness Week is serious business. While it might be tough for some of you smartphone-toting, text-messaging folks to comprehend, many people cannot afford a simple telephone line — and that further isolates some of our city’s most vulnerable residents.
As such, the state Board of Public Utilities, NJ SHARES and the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners are promoting two key programs as part of National Telephone Discount Lifeline Awareness Week.
“Link Up” offers a reduction in installation fees for families who cannot afford to pay for a new phone service connection, while “Lifeline” is a program for a reduction in the monthly fees for telephone service.
With Link Up, families can receive a 50 percent reduction in the phone service installation charge, up to a maximum of $30. Under Lifeline, phone customers who participate in or are eligible for public
assistance programs like Medicaid, TANF and the Food Stamp program are entitled to receive a basic telephone service discount of at least $10 per month.
“It is critical for every household to have telephone access to emergency services, even in these financially difficult times,” Board of Public Utilities president Jeanne M. Fox said in a statement. “These programs help New Jersey’s households maintain a link to the world through their telephone.”
For eligibility and enrollment information, call NJ SHARES at 1-888 337-3339 or visit www.njshares.org.
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Jon Whiten is the founding editor of the Jersey City Independent; he now works for a public-policy nonprofit in Trenton.
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