Free phones help Indy’s unhoused get connected

By Kayla Barlow

Nowadays, it’s almost impossible to get by without a phone. 

But for some unhoused people, going without a phone for days, weeks or months is common. With studies showing that homeless people have higher mortality rates, the cell phone is a necessity often inaccessible to those that need it most. 

Indiana is no exception. National Alliance to End Homelessness statistics show that around 5,449 people in Indiana are unhoused. Many local people and organizations are making efforts to change that statistic. 

Michael Jewell, founder of family-based Constellation Wireless, is among them. In conjunction with a federal government program called the Lifeline program, Constellation Wireless is giving free phones to Indiana’s unhoused.

“This guy said to me, who slept under a bridge, ‘You know, I don’t know what would have happened to me if I had an emergency situation with no phone,’” Jewell said. “People that don’t have those kinds of issues about knowing where to go to sleep and safety and all of that, we kind of take it for granted.

This story is one of many Jewell has heard because of the Lifeline program.

Through both the program and providers such as Stand-Up Wireless, Tru Link Wireless, and Excess Telecom, Constellation Wireless has been able to give out free phones that have free phone plans to those who qualify through programs like Medicaid, SNAP, SSI, Veterans and Survivors Pension, Federal Public Housing, Pell Grants or household income requirements. The program also offers affordable phones to those who meet specific low-income thresholds.

In addition to being on assistance programs, applicants can qualify by presenting their government ID and the last four digits of their Social Security number.

The tenets of the program are that recipients of the phone use it to communicate with family members, contact emergency services and get a job. 

When given the phones, Jewell said the first call made should be no surprise.

“They would call their mom first,” Jewell said. “That tells you what kind of condition they’re in … It’s kind of heartwarming to see people make that call to mom and then reconnect with their families.” 

Moments like these have allowed the organization to help the unhoused in more ways than one.

“It became like a ministry,” Jewell said. “We’re almost like therapists out here…We just kind of listen, but they get it out.

“You’ve got people out here, the unhoused community, people don’t listen to them. They don’t see them,” he continued. 

Although Jewell’s ministry is a family based one, he regularly works with other people and organizations that have a similar passion. 

Charles Motley, a community organizer and advocate for the homeless, is one of them.

“I told (Jewell) that from ’91 to ‘95 I used to be homeless, and I promised God that once I straightened my life up, that I was gonna get out and serve the community,” Motley said.

Their budding friendship quickly blossomed into a long-standing collaboration between Jewell, Constellation Wireless and Motley. Motley connected Jewell with organizations he had worked with and used his advocacy background to help get the word out to the unhoused community. 

The result? 

“They came in droves,” Jewell said.

Now, Constellation Wireless has partnered with over 30 organizations like the Center Township Trustee’s office, Salvation Army, Wheeler’s Mission, the Nomad Alliance (also known as Allies for Humanity), the Indianapolis Public Library, the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs and more. 

Katelyn White, one of two of the directors for the Indiana chapter of Nomad Alliance, said the Nomad Alliance has worked with Constellation Wireless for over a year.

“It’s been very important for… Allies for Humanity to get Michael and his team as many places as possible so that way we can ideally combat some of that concern,” White said. 

On the third Saturday of each month, Constellation wireless and the Nomad Alliance distribute resources at a “safe serve site” on Kentucky Avenue under I-70. 

During the week, Constellation Wireless distributes phones at the Indianapolis Public Library (Indy PL) from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Monday and Thursday.

Yanna McGraw, Indy PL’s social worker, said the library has worked with Constellation since 2023.

“This community partnership is important for the library as we are providing a connection to a resource that connects many resources for those in need in the community,” McGraw said.

Due to an ever-growing concern for the community’s homeless veterans, Constellation Wireless is on call for several organizations—one being the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. 

Part of the department’s mission is to bring assistance to unhoused veterans and veterans at risk of being homeless. But when these veterans don’t have phones, it is difficult for department employees to get in contact with them. 

Constellation Wireless has helped with this effort, said James Miller, outreach social worker for the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs. 

“I’ve never had a time where I called him for assistance, and he’s been unavailable … I am really appreciative of the work that he’s doing,” Miller said.

Like Miller, many of Jewell’s own coworkers are appreciative of the work Constellation Wireless is doing. One of these is Jewell’s brother-in-law, Loren White. 

In working with these organizations alongside Jewell, White said he gets joy from giving phones to those who need them. 

“There is a sense of desperation at times, there have been people who’ve told me ‘I really needed this, I need to contact my mother, she doesn’t know where I am,” White said. “And then they’re able to get a phone, and it’s just such a relief on them, and it really makes me feel good to do that.”

White noted that stories like these have shown him even more that homelessness, and mental health issues prevalent among the homeless, are problems that the city needs to address. 

“I’ve seen people looking lifeless and hopeless in areas no one goes to,” White said.  I want to help these people … It’s really impacted me … This is just my part-time job, but I love it so much. It makes me feel like I’m doing something fulfilling to help somebody.” 

To people who might tend to walk past unhoused people, White encouraged them to give. 

“If you see people in certain organizations here in the city, you can give them little things to give to the homeless … And you can just give your time,” White said.