Community Voice Mail Comes to Austin
By Beverly ScarboroughWhen you are homeless or in an unstable living or financial situation, staying in communication with potential employers, caseworkers, doctors and even family members can be a real challenge. Without access to a phone, opportunities for jobs, housing and other services are likely to be missed. Now there is a solution—the Community Voice Mail (CVM) System is being started in Austin and will be operational by February. Here’s how it works:
Participants must live in Austin/Travis and must be referred by a community-based organization including religious organizations or food pantries.
Each participant is given a dial-in number. It looks just like a regular phone number.
The participant is trained on how to use the system, records a simple greeting and secures a password.
The participant is connected and can give out his or her new number.
The participant can check messages from any regular or pay phone.
The message box is secure and the messages will remain confidential.
Although this is the first time that CVM has been enacted in this area, it is working with great success 35 cities in 17 states including Texas communities Dallas/Fort Worth and Houston.
CVM is coming to our community via a generous grant from Impact Austin to the Austin Travis County MHMR Center, the entity overseeing the program. Impact Austin, a women’s organization focused on helping its membership develop philanthropic knowledge and skills, gives two grants annually to community non-profits. In 2004 the organization funded a collaboration between LifeWorks and Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream to provide a job training center. “We were genuinely moved at the number of ways in which the Community Voice Mail Center can tangibly improve persons lives and how well it is working in other communities,” says Rebecca Powers, Impact Austin’s founder. “Austin Travis County MHMR serves a broad population and we were impressed at the agency’s flexibility in meeting its clients needs.”For more information about the Community Voice Mail Program call (512) 440-4064.