Surprising Canary and a Chance to Protect Women Being Tracked via Cell Phone by Their Abusers

I heard the most surprising thing today from OJ, the canary.  I bought a fake bird to put in his dead buddy's cage.  It's a bright, sunny day, which cheers up all canaries.  So I tried playing a bird tape he's heard before.  First I thought I was hallucinating, then I wondered if the spirit of Rafi, the finch who died, was hanging around OJ's cage.  Finally I realized they had been together so long that my canary had learned to shout at the tape, sounding just like Rafi and himself.  He was shouting for both of them, in two Completely differing bird voices.  Maybe he'll be all right, I Hope so.

On a Serious Note, The organization below won their struggle to make Verizon sensitive to the needs of fleeing victims of abuse.  Now . . .

Change.org

Verizon will no longer punish victims of domestic violence with cancellation fees. Now Sprint should do the same.

petitions/sprint-improve-policies-to-keep-domestic-violence-victims-safe?utm_source=action_alert&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=11773&alert_id=HKgZUPlBqk_hfctJlnMWG

Sign Jane's Petition

My name is not Jane.

 I need to keep my real name secret because the man who abused me can't know where

I am -- I fear for my safety.

But when I was leaving him and needed to get him off the cell phone contract we shared,

Sprint put my safety at risk.

The man who abused me is the father of my son. When our baby was just four months

old, he watched as his father strangled me and threatened to stomp on my head with

steel-toed boots. I left and got a restraining order the next day.

But at a time when I had no job, no steady place to live, and feared for my life

and the life of my little one,

Sprint refused to let me get my abuser off my cell phone contract unless I paid them

$200

-- even though the contract was in my name.

I had no money, and the man who threatened to kill me could track exactly who I was

calling and when.

I was inspired when I saw that another woman started a petition on Change.org asking Verizon to end contract cancellation fees for victims of domestic violence --  and she won . So I started my own petition asking Sprint to do the same. Click here to add your name.

When I signed the petition asking Verizon to drop cancellation fees for victims of

domestic violence, I was shocked how many other people who signed shared awful stories

about Sprint.

One woman wrote about how Sprint made her meet her abusive ex-boyfriend

in person at the Sprint store before they'd let her cancel her contract.

As for me, I'm still so afraid of my abuser that I can't even use my real name. But

this issue is so important for women like me fighting for their lives, I knew I had

to do something.

Cindy's petition to Verizon made me realize that I am not alone.

If she can get Verizon to change its policies to prioritize the safety of victims

of domestic violence, there's no reason Sprint can't do the same.

 I know that if enough people sign my petition, Sprint will do the right thing, too.

Click here to sign my petition demanding that Sprint follow in Verizon's footsteps and end cancellation fees for victims of domestic violence.

Thank you,

Jane Doe

USA