Clients of the Tulsa Day Center for the Homeless now have access to a personal, local phone number connected to a private voice mailbox.

"It's going to be beneficial for getting people out of the homeless situation," said Mack Haltom, the associate director of the day center. "The more contacts, the better."

The program has more than 40 clients, and more join daily. The agency has 500 numbers available and is enlisting other Tulsa organizations to participate.

The program began last month with the help of a two-year grant for $103,000 from the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation.

One woman found success when one of the voice messages she received was a job offer, said Sandra Lewis, the executive director of the day center.

"She's a substitute teacher, and she was reluctant to give the shelter number, thinking that might interfere with the ability to get the job," Lewis said. "As soon as she got her voice mail, she gave it to everybody and got a job offer. That really reinforced with us the importance of the privacy part of it."

The day center is the first agency in Oklahoma to use the national Community Voice Mail program, which began in 1993 in Seattle. The program has spread to 40 agencies in 21 states.

No equipment or installation is needed for participating agencies. The system uses Voice Over Internet Protocol, and the servers are housed in Seattle.

The mailboxes take a few minutes to set up and work just like cell-phone voice mail. Accounts can be accessed from any phone.

Lewis said that in addition to helping clients with housing and employment, the voice mail program has helped them stay in touch with family members. One young man who was embarrassed to give his parents the number to the shelter gave them his voice mail number. He was able to hear from them after a long period of no communication.

"That kind of helped him feel more comfortable about getting back in touch with them instead of having to receive his messages through the shelter number," she said. "I thought that was really pretty significant."

The program gives administrators the ability to broadcast messages to groups of people in the program. They can leave messages about job and health fairs or other community events. They can also give information during emergencies.

Caseworkers and doctors who work with the clients also benefit from the program, Lewis said.

"Our case managers are excited about it because they've got their clients' phone numbers and they can call and remind them about a housing appointment or call and say, 'I really need to talk to you, will you come in?' " she said. "That improves our communication and our ability to serve our clients."

David Hart, a day center client, signed up for the program about three weeks ago after he could no longer afford to pay for his cell phone service.

Having voice mail has opened avenues, he said.

"You've got to have a network to be able to climb back up out of some circumstances," he said. "It's a real impor tant tool to have that open communication with prospective employers and housing and medical and all that."

Tim Foster got his number Thursday after he arrived in Tulsa a few days earlier.

Having a personal number makes him feel reconnected to society, he said.

"It puts you back in the world, instead of being so iso lated," he said.

When clients sign up, they must list their goals for the phone number and agree not to use it for illegal purposes. In return, the agency assures them of privacy.

The administrators monitor the use of the numbers. They can tell how many messages have been left and heard at each number as well as how often the clients check their mailboxes, Lewis said.

"If it turns out they don't need it or if they've left town, and we see that they haven't used it, then we can recycle it and give it to a new person," she said.

The day center has not encountered any technical problems with the system, Lewis said, adding that she looks forward to seeing other agencies take advantage of the program.

"It's great just hearing the clients that have their numbers talk about why it's so important to them," she said. "It's that feeling of being connected."

Shannon Muchmore 581-8378
shannon.muchmore@tulsaworld.com