{"id":8691,"date":"2022-12-22T10:07:21","date_gmt":"2022-12-22T15:07:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/?p=8691"},"modified":"2022-12-22T10:07:21","modified_gmt":"2022-12-22T15:07:21","slug":"a-philadelphia-volunteer-group-is-setting-up-free-pay-phones-to-help-those-in-need","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inspirationreport\/2022\/12\/a-philadelphia-volunteer-group-is-setting-up-free-pay-phones-to-help-those-in-need.html","title":{"rendered":"A Philadelphia Volunteer Group is Setting Up Free Pay Phones to Help Those in Need"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"payphone\"<\/a>
Kelly\/Pexels.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

An \u201camateur phone collective\u201d in Philadelphia is working to bring back pay phones to the city without the actual payment. PhilTel,\u00a0a volunteer organization that launched in June<\/a>, opened its first free-to-use payphone on December 17 at Iffy Books, a hacker-focused bookshop and workshop in the Center City district.<\/p>\n

Mike Dank, one of the organization\u2019s founders, told CNN that the project was inspired by an Oregon man who installed a payphone in his front yard. The project, known as FuTel, was surprisingly popular, leading him to install more phones throughout Portland.<\/p>\n

Dank said that although cell phones are widespread, not everyone has one \u2013 or can keep up with their phone payments. These free phones can help fill the gap for people who need phone access.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere are people who don\u2019t have access to those resources,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are people in domestic violence situations where a spouse has control over their phone, and yet they need ways to access people. So yeah, there are people who need it.\u201d Dank said there are currently around 50 working payphones left in Philadelphia. As payphones deteriorate and fall into disrepair, the communities that depend on them might be left in the dust.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe they\u2019ve had a payphone on their street corner that they\u2019ve been using for the past 20 years, and all of a sudden, that\u2019s gone,\u201d he explained. \u201cWhat are they going to do?\u201d The free phones will also provide a hit of nostalgia in a rapidly digitizing world, according to Dank. \u201cIt\u2019s kind of like a cool, nostalgic novelty\u201d which will let users \u201crelive the days when payphones were everywhere,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Dank calls the volunteer-run initiative \u201chalf art project, half community service.\u201d \u201cIt\u2019s a sort of labor of love,\u201d he said. Dank said Iffy Books<\/a>\u00a0felt like a \u201cnatural first place\u201d to install a phone because of the book store\u2019s status as a \u201ccommunity watering hole\u201d for hackers, artists, activists, and engineers. \u201cThen we\u2019ll see how people use it, how people react to it, and hopefully drum up some more interest to get more of them installed throughout the city,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

In the future, PhilTel might install more phones at small businesses, like bars, stores, and market spaces. They\u2019re also considering approaching payphone companies whose phones have fallen into disrepair, Dank said. PhilTel could offer to assume responsibility for the upkeep of this existing payphone infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, Dank hopes to install a free payphone in every Philadelphia neighborhood so that \u201cany place you are, you\u2019re maybe like, you know, 20 minutes to a half-hour walk from one.\u201d Most people may think of pay phones as a thing of the past, but they can help people who need them. While most people have access to cell phones, some people don\u2019t, so these pay phones will help those people.<\/p>\n

Perhaps a woman in a domestic violence situation desperately needs help, but her spouse controls her phone bill. This free pay phone will help her get the assistance she needs to start bettering her life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An \u201camateur phone collective\u201d in Philadelphia is working to bring back pay phones to the city without the actual payment. PhilTel,\u00a0a volunteer organization that launched in June, opened its first free-to-use payphone on December 17 at Iffy Books, a hacker-focused bookshop and workshop in the Center City district. Mike Dank, one of the organization\u2019s founders,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":657,"featured_media":8694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,12,607],"tags":[764,1809],"class_list":["post-8691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiring-messages","category-inspiring-people","category-people-who-do-good","tag-giving-back","tag-philtel"],"yoast_head":"\nA Philadelphia Volunteer Group is Setting Up Free Pay Phones to Help Those in Need<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"PhilTel,\u00a0a volunteer organization that launched in June, opened its first free-to-use payphone on December 17th.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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