Voices of CVM

 

 

News and Media

The Scenario

You’re about to offer “John” a job. You know he’s right for the job – what you don’t know is that he is in transition. You call him with the good news:

Without CVM

This is what you hear:

image of phone
The number you are trying to reach has been disconnected...

Result:

A lost opportunity

With CVM

This is what you hear:

image of phone
Hi. This is John. I can't take your call right now, but if you leave a message...

 
Result:

A new job

How do you get a job without a phone? A place to live? Safety from domestic abuse?
You don’t. Access to a telephone is a basic survival tool...and often one we don’t think of.

Community Voice Mail is a simple and effective solution to a complex problem – how to help people in crisis and transition stay connected to the very tool they need most: a constant telephone number.

 

How Does Community Voice Mail Work?

Community Voice Mail is personalized, confidential and easy to use. Here’s how it works:

Working with a CVM provider, John is given an instruction card and a touch-tone phone to use.

  1. He dials in
  2. Records a simple greeting
  3. Creates his secure password
  4. He’s reconnected!

That’s it. Enrollment usually takes under 3 minutes. John walks out the door with a new phone number – and is immediately empowered with the tangible tool he needs to succeed.

How Easy Is CVM To Use?

Using The New Phone Number Is Easy: All you need is access to a touch-tone phone. Once their new phone number is active, users can check messages from anywhere that works for them: pay phones, social service agencies, or the homes of friends and family. For those users with email addresses, a notification can be sent to their email inbox alerting them to the fact that they have a voice mail message. A CVM number looks like any other local telephone number and therefore does not signal the client’s status as a homeless or phoneless person. In this way, CVM users are able to reflect the stability and credibility associated with having a personal home answering machine.

We Recycle: Community Voice Mail numbers are distributed based on demonstrated financial need, lack of reliable phone service, or pursuit of a goal for work, housing, healthcare, or safety from domestic violence. Once goals are achieved, the phone number is recycled to the next available subscriber. In this way, a single voice mailbox number can be used 2-3 times per calendar year.

Often the line between a job interview and a job offer can be as thin as a telephone cord.

Community Voice Mail can turn a job search into job acceptance; help an apartment application become a place to live; and keep parents connected to teachers, doctors, friends and family.

 

Who Uses Community Voice Mail?

Anyone who needs it. People in crisis or transition –

  • Homeless person
  • Laid off worker
  • Disabled veteran
  • Domestic violence victim
  • Family choosing between heat & phone
  • Foster children displaced at 18th birthday
  • Migrant or Day worker
  • Parolee
  • Many more

homeless programs

 

CVM does not discriminate against any segment of the population. User criteria includes demonstrated financial need, lack of reliable phone service, or pursuit of a goal for work, housing, healthcare, or domestic violence assistance.

 


Why do people use Community Voice Mail?

The most common goals for CVM users are:

  • Employment
  • Housing
  • Healthcare
  • Safe Communication
  • Staying connected to vital services and support

 

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