Homelessness: Helping The Homeless

Helping the Homeless There are many reasons a person might become homeless. These reasons can range from home foreclosure, losing a job, mental illness, drug use, to escape a bad situation (such as domestic abuse), divorce, death of a loved one, or other major life changes. Today many individuals, as well as entire families, live in poverty and are barely getting by. According to Homaid.org, as many as three and half million people are homeless each year, with a million of these people being children (HomeAid). In fact, even you or I might just be a couple of missed paychecks away from becoming homeless ourselves. Despite the reasons one might find his or herself homeless (many times through no fault of their own) or living on the streets, …show more content…
They need to be clean and be clean shaven, when they have no place to bathe or shower. They need clean, suitable clothes in good condition, when they don’t have the means to do laundry or buy new clothes. They need transportation, which can be hard or even impossible to obtain. The list goes on and on and seems like a vicious cycle. However, one of the biggest obstacles homeless people face has to do with what to write down on the job application. What will they list as their address? How are potential employers to contact them in the event they get a call back? According to HomelessAdvice.com, “A homeless person 's biggest obstacle when looking for a job is probably keeping in contact with potential employers and interviewers and allowing a line of communication to be …show more content…
This program provides individuals with a permanent number and voicemail box for potential employers to leave messages. Each number is local and is in no way connected to a shelter or revealing in any other way. The participant can retrieve their messages at any time, day or night, through any phone, whether it is a shelter phone or pay phone. They are also able to record their own personal and professional voicemail greeting. This way the homeless do not have to reveal their situation on a job application by listing a shelter as the contact info. They are able to obscure the fact that they do not have permanent housing and avoid the negative stigma attached to being homeless. To date, Community Voice Mail has provided their service to thousands of people, and according to their website “nearly 70% of participants report achieving their goals of finding a home, a job, or needed social services using Community Voice Mail.” (Community Voice Mail). I think this is one program and initiative we can all get