Seized Phones Send Hopeful Message

Cellphones confiscated from Chuckawalla Valley State Prison are being refurbished and sold to benefit a domestic violence support group in San Jose.

This picture isn’t just worth a thousand words. It’s also worth about $2,500.

Cellphones seized from inmates at Chuckawalla Valley State Prison near the Arizona border are now in San Jose, where a battered women's support group called Next Door Solutions is refurbishing them.

The group can sell the phones and earn more than $2,000 to help pay for the services it offers.

A prison spokesperson says it's an appropriate gift, since some of the phones were seized from inmates who are serving time for domestic violence.

“Now they are being used to help survivors,” Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Johnny Gogo said.

Chuckawalla Prison Sgt. Curtis Carney said the prison used to seize about 300 contraband cellphones a year, but that’s slowed to about 35 a year since a blocking system was installed.

Next Door has raised $5,000 this year from cell phone donations, and about $28,000 overall since its donation program began in 2003.

Anyone who would like to donate old phones is asked to contact Donna Knowlton at (408) 501-7550 or email dknowlton@nextdoor.org.

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