Community Voice Mail provides free, 24-hour nationwide voice mail to people in crisis - connecting them to jobs, housing and hop
References / Past Projects
Their phone may have been cut off; they may live in a group shelter; they may be fleeing domestic violence. For many poor, homeless, or otherwise needy people, the privacy afforded by a personal voice mailbox is an impossible luxury.
But Community Voice Mail, a charity with headquarters in Seattle that now works in 40 cities, allows anyone to personalize their own voice mailbox— and that can be a useful tool for people struggling to pull themselves out of a crisis. Many people without phones give out their social workers' phone numbers, which can result in extended games of phone tag and missed messages. Even worse, it can raise red flags for potential employers.
"No matter what your situation is, you can project out to the world: 'Hi, I'm so-and-so, and I'm not here right now,'" says Jennifer Brandon, head of Community Voice Mail. "It's one of those things that makes all the difference in the world."
The organization, created in 1991, buys phone numbers in each city. The national office collaborates with a local social-service group, which hands out lists of numbers to local charities and government agencies, which then help interested clients set up the service. Ms. Brandon says the group last year served 41,000 people, adding that each phone number is used for an average of seven months, and that 70 percent of those who stopped using the service last year reported that they had reached at least one personal goal, such as finding employment or housing.
A $2.5-million grant, spread over five years, from the communications-technology company Cisco Systems, has buoyed Community Voice Mail, which has a phone bill of about $250,000 each year. Cisco also donated equipment and volunteers.
Community Voice Mail's clients, says Ms. Brandon, tell the charity, "This makes me feel human. I've just fallen into this system where I don't have my own things anymore, I don't have my own space. I have to go through hoops for everything."
