HALIFAX—A Halifax community health service program is giving old phones a new life with a cellphone drive for local shelters.

Mobile Outreach Street Health, known as MOSH, is holding a cellphone collection event in front of the old library on Spring Garden Rd. Wednesday, Jan. 16, from 7:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“Having a cellphone isn’t necessarily the same luxury that it once was,” said Emilie Comeau, a volunteer with MOSH that is leading the collection drive.

Comeau points to the expensive cost of having a landline compared to cheap cellphone plans and the increasing rarity of pay phones in Halifax. He said that makes mobile phones more of a necessity.

“Having a cellphone really is the only way for people who are experiencing homelessness or (who are insecurely) housed to be connected in a way,” he said. “So I think it’s really important because it serves as a lifeline.”

Phones can be used to call 911 regardless of funds on the phone. Those with a cellular plan use the devices to contact health-care providers, and community and emergency services. They can also be important when people are required to provide contact information while seeking housing. It also provides a key way to connect with family and friends.

Comeau said a cellphone can also be crucial for people who use shelters but rely on phones for their employment. He shared the example of a man who stayed at a shelter and had his cellphone stolen.

“He came into MOSH distressed because he was a mover, and he was getting work through people calling his cellphone,” said Comeau.

“Without his phone, he was missing out on job after job and was ending up having to stay in the shelters … MOSH was able to give him a phone and he went and put money on it and was totally back on his feet and was so, so, so grateful.”

Comeau said she and a friend were asked by Patti Melanson to take over the cellphone drive. Melanson, described as the driving force behind MOSH, died in December, three years after being diagnosed with cancer.

Any working cellphone can be donated to MOSH. Although donating with an accompanying charger is ideal, it’s not a requirement. People are asked to wipe their phone’s memory before making a donation, but MOSH staff can help with that if necessary.

Once the phones are unlocked from the previous owner’s service carrier, MOSH distributes the devices to shelters through Halifax. They’re then given out on a case-by-case basis.

“It’s just so different for everyone. There could be someone who’s homeless and not able physically or mentally or financially … to go to a provider and get a phone plan,” Comeau explained. “Some people will need a credit history (check) or an address or this and that.”

In December, Comeau led a cellphone collection drive where she estimates 30 phones were donated. Another 20 were later donated at the Mainline Needle Exchange on Cornwallis St. by people who heard about the drive.

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The target with next week’s drive is to collect at least 100 phones. As it’s an ongoing need, phones can be donated at Mainline from Monday to Friday outside of the donation drive event.

“People are generally really happy to (donate old cellphones) because they really serve no purpose to them anymore,” Comeau said. “Just knowing that it’s going to help someone so much, it’s just a really good way to donate a used phone.”

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