October, 2008
Community Voice Mail
The Coalition to End Homelessness has taken another huge step in the fight to End Homelessness with the introduction of Community Voice Mail. Launched in July 2008 to serve people in crisis and transition in the greater Ft. Lauderdale area Community Voice Mail is a free, reliable, voice mail service....Read article
April 29, 2008
Voicemail Aids Phoneless and Homeless
Seattle, WA - (KUOW) - Across the country, homeless people are able to keep in touch with case managers or follow job leads through a free access voice mail system. For 15 years, Community Voice Mail, as the Seattle–based program is called, has been giving phone numbers to people in crisis or in transition. From Seattle, Ruby de Luna has this story of one man who says voice mail got him out of homelessness. Read and listen to piece.March 24, 2008
Voice mail a vital link for homeless
Tulsa, OK - For a person without a place to live, not having a phone number may seem like a trivial problem. But solving it can be key to getting out of a difficult situation... Read article
February 25, 2008
Community Voice Mail Receives Prestigious
National Award
Community Voice Mail was awarded the Committee Encouraging Corporate Philanthropy (CECP) Directors Nonprofit Excellence Award today, in recognition of the organization's success and its strong technology and philanthropy partnership with Cisco System. Jenn Brandon, Executive Director of the CVM National Office, accepted the award on behalf of the federation of 41 CVM sites providing voice mail service in 420 U.S. cities and towns...Read Article
October 4, 2007
Staying Connected
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,... 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...Read Article
August 10, 2007
Simple voicemail a Big Issue for homeless
Community Voice Mail offers homeless people their own telephone number and voicemail service. A pilot recently began with Cisco and six Big Issue vendors in Melbourne and will assess the potential to roll out the empowering technology more widely across the homeless community...Read Article »
July 25, 2007
Homeless Advocates Split over Wireless Use
...The city has offered Community Voice Mail since 1998, a service that lets the unemployed and homeless establish free voice mail they can check from any phone so that potential employers and social service providers can contact them. Nearly 200 people use the service in Chattanooga, and Ruby Mitchell, who manages the program for the Chattanooga Regional Homeless Coalition, said the wide availability of wireless phones has helped...Read Article »
June 27, 2007
St. Petersburg Times
The Phoneless can still get the Message
Barbara Graham knows how it feels to be disconnected. After fleeing an abusive marriage and heading to a domestic violence shelter, Graham had no way of contacting loved ones to let them know she was safe. "I had nothing. I left with just me and my baby, and it's very difficult to get any kind of services when you don't have a phone number"...Read Article »
April 15, 2007
Homeless reach out for Lifeline
"New technology of all sorts - the Internet, e-mail at the public libraries, cellphones - has been a blessing for homeless people," Stoops said. "It's become a way of life, a priority for them to connect with life." As proof of the demand for such a connection, Stoops points to a nonprofit in Seattle called Community Voice Mail that was born out of social workers' frustrations at not being able to reach their clients...Read Article »
December 5, 2006
Goodwill Newsletter
CVM Helps Austin Goodwill clients overcome barrier of Having no Phone
Thanks to its referral of clients to an administrative partner, Goodwill Industries of Central Texas is able to connect Austin residents with jobs through a vital link-a stable phone number... Read Article »
November 27, 2006
WRDW News 12
Free Voice Mail for the Needy Comes to Augusta
There is a new program to help the needy get their own voice mail box to stay in touch with family, and more importantly, employers...Read Article »
August 31, 2006
Fort Worth Star Telegram
Number, Please
In a world where people seemingly cannot survive without being constantly connected through pocket-size communications devices, it's difficult to imagine that anyone is without telephone service. Still, for many in our society, basic phone service — never mind cell phones — must compete with even more important necessities. Read More »
July 11, 2006
The Center to Bridge the Digital Divide Awards CVM a 2-year Communities Connect Project Grant
Community Voice Mail is happy to announce that we've been awarded a 2-year Communities Connect project grant from The Center to Bridge the Digital Divide, based at Washington State University in Spoakne. With the project grant we'll formalize a partnership with Washington Information Network 2-1-1, with hopes that our efforts will lead the way to greater collaboration on a national scale. Read More »
June 14, 2006
Austin Statesman
A Phone number gives homeless a line to the work world.
People being helped by local service agencies can get a free personal voice mailbox. Lynne Johnston wants a job. The 46-year-old Austom woman, who is homeless and lives at the Salvation Army shelter, says she'll do anything: typing, landscaping, cashier work. But she can't get a job without a phone number. Now she has one...Read Article »
June 5, 2006
Amercian Red Cross Partnership Helps With Communiation During Disaster
American Red Cross has launched the Safe and Well web site to provide families with a tool to communicate with loved ones in the immediate aftermath of a disaster. Community Voice Mail is listed as a partner on this site and is pleased to play a role in providing a vital communication link.