Access - Information - Efficiency

An update from Jenn	In their own words	How you can help
	Amanda's Story Click to listen	Your support keeps us connected

Dear friends,

Half a million – that’s about how many calls go through the Community Voice Mail system every month and we recently celebrated our 15 millionth call.  What’s more, usage is increasing every month – from February to March alone, the number of calls grew 13%. 

Here at CVM, we believe in measuring how we’re doing.  The 2009 data is in!  Not surprisingly,
it reflects the impact of the economic downturn.

For CVM clients at the time of enrollment - unemployment increased from 41% to 54% and homelessness increased from 52% to 65%. People who turn to Community Voice Mail need a phone number to connect with services and opportunity more than ever.  The data reflects that growing demand: 43,300 were served by CVM in 2009, an 8% increase. CVM ‘s reach is larger than ever with a national network of 45 regional programs partnering with more than 2000 agencies in 414 cities around the country and 65% of our users achieved one or more of their goals within 6 months. See more results

Census and Being Counted

What if you were homeless?  How would you be counted?  Partnering with the Census Bureau in the 2010 Census, we had a chance to show the power of our network to include people that are so often overlooked.  We sent out broadcast messages to tens of thousands of clients around the country, letting them know how to get counted & be involved.

Every person who is counted represents 1,400 federal dollars for that community.  That means medical services, housing resources, even the number of representatives in Congress can increase based on increases in the census count.   

CVM Goes International

Community Voice Mail is in Canada!  We are proud to welcome Lu’ma Native Housing Society, our newest host agency in Vancouver, British Columbia.  In just 60 days, Vancouver Manager Jamie Foster has recruited 25 providers of housing, employment, health care and social services in the Downtown Eastside neighborhood.  Listen to hear Jamie talk about why CVM Vancouver is such a source of community pride.