September 18, 2009
Connecting Through Community Voice Mail
D.C. Street Sense by Suzy Tekunan
"You’ve reached the voice mail of Imari Harris, please leave a message.” There was nothing unusual about the human voice greeting the caller, except that the phone number and voice mail were free of charge. Harris was using a borrowed phone number from Community Voice Mail (CVM). Five months ago, Harris came to Washington, D.C., only to join the 15,000 homeless in the D.C. area. That’s when he hit bottom, but decided to get up and start running again. Harris moved into a shelter and soon sought the services of So Others May Eat (SOME), an organization helping the homeless.
Through the Human Development Program at SOME, Harris enrolled in the CVM program and started using the number as a contact point for potential employers in the hopes of landing a part-time job. Harris also won a full scholarship to take classes in order to become a certified network administrator. Harris could not afford to pay for telephone service, a common problem for homeless people. It would have been impossible for a potential employer or the scholarship office to contact him without a contact number. His will to get himself out of homelessness would not be enough without support from programs like Human Development and CVM.
Harris is not the only beneficiary of this program. CVM has been serving the poor and homeless for 16 years in 45 cities around the country. It started in Washington D.C. four years ago and now serves close to 400 people. The voice mail program also serves other purposes. It provides crucial information, such as cooling center locations in the summer and emergency evacuation instructions in cases of natural disasters.
“Most of our users didn’t have access to television or radio to tell them what to do when Hurricane Ike was approaching, so we gave out evacuation guidance through the voice mail service,” said Jennifer Brandon, executive director of CVM’s national office in Seattle, Washington.
Despite its importance, CVM in D.C. is in danger of closing due to funding shortfalls. The current economic crisis has led to rising homelessness and a decrease in funding. Service organizations are prioritizing food and shelter over other services. Still, several D.C. agencies, including N St. Village, So Others May Eat, Pathways to Housing, Jobs have Priority and Bread for the City, are collaborating to keep this program alive. The total cost of the program is $40,000 a year, a relatively small sum for a program that serves a large client base. The five homeless agencies in DC are still working to raise another $30,000. Ann McCreedy from N St. Village, a housing agency for homeless women, says the agencies can see the value of the program and are willing to work together to find a solution to keep the program in DC and even become more effective.
Across the board, non-profit organizations are facing difficult choices during the economic downturn. With agencies focusing on their priorities, such as food for DC Central Kitchen and housing for N St. Village, CVM is arguably an extra service. But not for Harris, who would still be dependent on food and housing services had he not used CVM to land a job and gratifying financial independence. Just over a week ago, Harris purchased a cell phone plan of his own and is carefully using minutes on his new cellular phone.