Oklahoma district attorneys partner with Verizon to get refurbished cell phones in the hands of domestic violence victims.
Tulsa County District Attorney Tim Harris said many abusers keep their victims isolated.
"And when they finally break loose of that, they come into a situation where they need help from all kinds of different agencies to help them get on their feet to save their lives, maybe, or certainly save themselves from future violence or their kids from being exposed to that," Harris said.
The Tulsa County DA’s office will collect no-longer-used phones throughout October at the courthouse, 500 S Denver Ave., as well as its juvenile division and family services office. Phones and accessories can also be mailed to the office.
Harris said donating an old phone is safe.
"We'll make sure that it's secured, and then it'll be sent to Verizon and wiped clean," Harris said. "We are watching these phones as they come in so there's not a way that those phones can be stolen by somebody."
Refurbished phones with wireless and texting service will be distributed locally through Domestic Violence Intervention Services.