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Felons who may be experiencing financial hardship will often need assistance paying for bills. One bill that felons may need help paying for is the telephone. Most people would agree that having a telephone is necessary, even if it’s only for emergency purposes. Yet the phone bill may be hard to pay if you are short on cash. The good news is that there are grants for felons that help with telephone bills.
The average fee for having a home phone, which is a landline, is around $30 per month. There are some telephone providers that offer slightly cheaper rates. The average mobile phone bill cost around $70 per month, which is more than double what a landline is. Most people prefer to have a mobile phone, so they can take it with them, providing them a line of communication when there is an emergency. Plus, people use their mobile phone today for many more functions beyond making phone calls.
Felons who could use help paying for their phone bill will find that there are numerous grants they can apply for. Grants, unlike loans, do not ever have to be paid back. They are considered to be like gifts that are given to people during difficult financial times. Grants help ensure your basic needs are being met, while you work at improving your situation.
Grants for Felons that Help with Telephone Bills
Lifeline – One of the most popular grants that will help felons with their telephone bills is called Lifeline. This is a grant program that is funded by the federal government. It depends on what state you live in as to whether or not you will be able to get your phone for free or you will get a discount off of your monthly bill. The Lifeline program in some states will give felons their mobile phone for free, while in other states you would just qualify for a discount on your monthly telephone bill. The discount you would receive is around $9.25 per month. To qualify for the Lifeline program, you have to have a low income. If you are already receiving help from other federal assistance programs, such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), then you may automatically be qualified for the Lifeline program. To learn more about the Lifeline program, click here and click here.
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) – This program provides felons who qualify with a monthly cash grant. The cash grant can be used to pay for a wide variety of living expenses, including telephone bills. The amount of your monthly cash grant is determined by how many people are in your household. To qualify for TANF, you have to meet the low income requirements, be a citizen or legal alien, and you have to have at least one minor child you are caring for. If you do not have at least one minor child you are caring for then you may be qualified for General Assistance. The General Assistance program also provides a monthly cash grant to those who qualify, but the program is not available in all states. Some states require that in order to receive the monthly cash grant from TANF you will have to participate in a work program. The TANF program is federally funded, but administered by social services offices around the country. To learn more about TANF or apply near you, click here.
Catholic Charities – This organization offers helpful charity programs around the nation. In addition to helping felons with such things as food, clothing, and shelter, they may also help with paying telephone bills. The programs that are offered vary by location, so you would need to contact your local Catholic Charities to see if they offer help with paying telephone bills. Most Catholic Charities and other similar organizations do not have strict requirements for who can receive the bill paying assistance. To get more information and find a Catholic Charities near you, click here.
Salvation Army – This is a charity that has locations around the nation and that sometimes helps people pay for their bills or gives them cash grants. The grants are given to people based on need and the funding that is available. They will provide grants that help with telephone bills. To learn more about their program or apply for a grant, click here.
In addition to the above grants for felons that help with telephone bills you should check with your local churches and charitable organizations. Many local churches and charities offer bill paying assistance, and they do not have strict qualification requirements. Contact the places near you to see if they help pay for telephone bills. If they don’t, they may be able to refer you to places in your community that do.
