* CVM will not share your
email address.
Catholic Charities officially launched the program on Thursday, July 12, 2007, 10 a.m. at Milam Park. The Project Homeless Connect Fair served as the background for the launch event.
CVM provides phone numbers and private, personalized voice mail boxes to those who do not have phone services available to them.
The CVM program was started in Seattle, Washington in 1991 when a when a boilermaker walked into the Seattle Worker Center looking for a job. He was qualified and friendly, but there were no opportunities that day. Two weeks later, an employer called looking for a good boilermaker. The employees at the Seattle Worker Center immediately thought of the gentleman who had come in two weeks earlier. Unfortunately, he was homeless and the Center had no way of reaching him.
The solution was voice mail. In 1992, the idea of a community voice mail system was brought to the Seattle-based voicemail company Active Voice, who agreed to donate a voicemail system. Workers distributed voicemail numbers to 145 in a six-month period and within two months 70 percent had found jobs.
In 2006, CVM was serving 420 cities in 20 states around the country. Over 41,000 individuals had access to CVM voicemail numbers, including the unemployed, homeless, and disabled; veterans; and victims of domestic abuse. Of those who exited the program, 44 percent got jobs, 44 percent got housing, 51 percent received health care, 75 percent had safe communication regarding domestic violence, and 52 percent received access to other social services. In addition, 32 percent had communication with childcare services, schools, friends/family, etc.
CVM is now available in San Antonio to those with no access to telephone services. The initiative is being coordinated by Catholic Charities, who will distribute the voicemail boxes to local social service agencies and churches throughout the city, who will then distribute the boxes to qualifying clients. CVM is free for anyone who needs it and accessible almost immediately upon receipt of a number.
Along with funding from CVM National, Catholic Charities has received a grant from the AT&T Foundation to bring CVM to San Antonio.
| Agency Name: | Catholic Charities |
|---|---|
| Street Address: | 2903 W. Salinas |
| City, State, Zip: | San Antonio, TX 78207 |
| Telephone number: | 210-433-3256 x113 |
| Fax number | 210-433-0851 |
| Email address: | inavarro@ccaosa.org |
| Web Site: | www.ccaosa.org |
| Contact: | Irene Navarro |
| Days and hours of operation: |
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Cities/Towns Served: |
San Antonio |
