community voice mail presentation at nat'l conference on health, communication, marketing and...
DESCRIPTION
A presentation about Community Voice Mail (www.cvm.org), a national nonprofit that provides voice mail and information services to 40,000 low-income, homeless and otherwise "phoneless" people in 45 U.S. cities. Special focus on the desire for health-related information by our clients, and an overview of 3 information campaigns we've done with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2009.TRANSCRIPT
Voice Mail as an Information Network for Homeless Populations
Steve AlbertsonCommunity Voice Mail National Office
National nonprofit providing free voice mail and information services to low-income, homeless and
otherwise “phoneless” people in the U.S..
.
Finding A Job Fleeing domestic abuse Finding A Place to Live
115M Households
23M with Income <$10k/yr.
3M of thesewithout phones
Phonelessness in the U.S.
40,000servedby CVMper year
(Not to scale)
HOST AGENCY
ParticipatingAgency
ParticipatingAgency
ParticipatingAgency
ParticipatingAgency
Client
Client
Client
Client
CVM numbers are distributed throughexisting social services.
Case workers utilize CVM to stay in consistent contactwith clients, improving time- and cost-efficiency.
(national office)
How CVM Works
Clients40,000
• Jobs, housing, services
Agencies
2,000• Homeless,
jobs, health, Veterans
Hosts
45 cities• 23 states
• Local Program• Local funding
More Than Voice Mail
• Broadcast Voice/Email Messaging (clients)– Single message to all clients (or segments)– 1,800 messages sent in 2008
• Interactive Response– “Press 4 to respond”, Survey capabilities
• Reach into 2,000 social service agencies– Local relationship, direct reach
Cost-effective communication with a hard-to-reachpopulation that needs and wants information.
40,000 (clients)
11,000 (kids)
2,700 (adults)
+ +
= ~54,000 people per year dependent on a phone#
The “Phoneless”57% male
60% homeless or at-risk41% unemployed
21% disabled11% Veterans
6% DV / 4% parolees
$525/mo. avg. income40% with no income
21% have mobile phones59% have email addresses
14% with children (avg=2)6% with dep. adults (avg=1)
Why Voice(mail) Works
• Oral Culture *– Relationships– Spontaneous– Repetition/storytelling– Present-oriented
• Print Culture– Linear (“this, then that”)– Primacy of time– Analytical/abstract– Strategize/plan ahead
• Empowerment through ownership
• Dignity (“Like everyone else”)
• Local trusted voice / translator* Donna M. Beegle, “Overcoming the Silence of Generational Poverty,” Oct. 2003
Health Information Needs
• Free or low-cost basic health services– Clinics, flu shots, HIV/AIDS, kids
• Emergency information– H1N1, food recalls
• Benefits Information– CHIP, Veterans
• Preventative/Lifestyle
53% of our clients want to receive more health information
3 CVM Health Campaigns
Peanut RecallFeb-2009
Partner: CDC
• Voice/Email Msg (one message)• Blogs/Web sites
135 client voice responses
H1N1 Flu VirusApr-2009
Partner: CDC
• Voice/Email Msg (one message)• Blogs/Web sites
• Facebook/Twitter
55 client voice responses
HIV Testing DayJun-2009
Partner: AIDS.gov
• Voice/Email Msg (two messages)• Blogs/Web sites
• Facebook / Twitter• Second Life
40 client voice responses
Wave Sound Wave SoundWave Sound
What We’re Seeking
• “Content” Partners– Routine, high-quality information for our
clients and their agencies– Segmentation and syndication?
• Distribution Partners– More communities offering CVM– More “systems” providing CVM to all clients
• Financial Support!– A cost-effective communication network
Steve AlbertsonCommunity Voice Mail National Office(206) 441-7872, x190 / [email protected]
www.cvm.orgcommunityvoicemail.blogspot.com (blog)
@cvmnational (Twitter)
Thank You!