Voicemail a 'Lifeline' for People in Crisis"It's amazing how such a simple idea can do so much good," says Kevin Chestnut, CTO of Cisco's Voice Technology Group. That "simple idea," is the Community Voice Mail project, a volunteer philanthropic program that gives people in crisis access to voicemail, through a phone number that's local to their area. "As information workers, we're bombarded by 24-hour communications capabilities," Chestnut says. "But imagine yourself in a life crisis situation. Say you're in your 50s or 60s, and your wife has died, or your husband is sick. You can't pay your phone bill, but you still need to be able to get in touch with doctors, or family and friends." Here's how it works: Numbers are given out in blocks to relief organizations, who assign them to their clients. The clients can personalize their mailboxes with their own greetings, but when the number is dialed, the call is forwarded from the local exchange carrier to a server in Seattle over an IP network. "Essentially, it's exactly as though a caller were dialing an extension here at Cisco," Chestnut explains. "Only it's a local exchange, and the voicemail box that the caller reaches doesn't sound like an office, it sounds like you've reached someone's home telephone. "We take something as simple as a phone number for granted, but when you don't have that, it makes a huge difference. When you're out of work, how do you present yourself to a potential employer or a landlord as not in a crisis situation? You need a phone number, and you don't want one that prejudices your situation." The program, now in its 14th year, is supported by the Cisco Systems Foundation and now serves some 48,000 people across 19 states. But application of the program continues to expand. When Hurricane Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, Chestnut and many other CVM volunteers immediately recognized an opportunity to help. "We were all collectively watching the news, and as the magnitude of this crisis became increasingly clear, we realized that the people displaced by the hurricane were going to be in crisis for some time," he explains. "They may have mobile phones, but given what they'd lost, a lot of them weren't going to be able to pay that bill for very long. And they needed to find permanent housing, and jobs, and have a way to reach friends and family." Through FEMA and the Red Cross, Chestnut helped set up a CVM project to serve Katrina victims in only a matter of days. "If we can get communications back in place for people in crisis, very often they can get back on their feet," he continues. "Seventy percent [of the people who access the CVM program] are able to find what they need, whether it's medical care, housing, or a job." |
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