How to Become a Partner Project

Thanks to our online registration system, offering the VoiceMail4All Scheme couldn’t be easier. Basically, it involves promoting the service, registering clients on our website, storing print copies of all contracts in a file, helping clients to set up their voicemail and showing them how to retrieve their messages, and then encouraging them and helping them to renew their contracts. We also ask the Partner Projects give us periodic feedback through our online Agency Questionnaire.

Experience has demonstrated that the success of the VoiceMail4All project rests on the enthusiasm and commitment of our Partner Projects. We will sit down with you to discuss innovative ways of making VoiceMail4All a success in your particular situation, so that not only will your clients be eager to take up the service, but they will be encouraged to renew their contracts.

VoiceMail4All is currently available to homeless organisations or local authorities on a subscription fee basis. Within London, subscription fees are determined by each organisation's need for the service (as assessed through an initial pilot) and by the organisation's size. Very small charities may have their subscription fees waived entirely whilst mid-sized organisations may be offered substantial discounts.

Outside London, there is a basic fee for bringing the service to each city or region. It is envisioned that this fee will either be covered entirely by the local authority or shared by numerous organisations through joint partnerships. It is hoped that smaller jurisdictions such as districts in Shire Counties will make the service more cost-effective by forming partnerships with other districts.

Clients who already have mobiles may feel they do not need a VoiceMail4All number. However, voicemail has many advantages over mobiles:

· Mobiles can be lost, stolen or broken
· Mobile users often run out of credit, leaving them with no access to their messages
· Mobiles can run out of battery power
· Picking up messages on a mobile may be expensive while picking up VoiceMail4All messages via an 0800 number is free
· Local "landline" voicemail numbers give an impression of stability

Offering people both a mobile number AND a voicemail number as a back-up means callers will have another number to leave a message on if they can’t get through to a person on their mobile.

“We have found the scheme to be of enormous benefit to our attendees – many want to be able to keep in touch with friends and family without necessarily letting them know where they are. It also proved useful for job interviews, and finding accommodation.” (St Giles Trust)

“He’s got his own mobile, but it is never working and always out of credit. So I gave him a VoiceMail4All number. Within a couple of days, he received a message from an employer and he’s now working! VoiceMail4All has broken the last barrier preventing my clients from working! Now there is nothing stopping them from hearing from potential employers who want to give them work!” (Job Centre Plus Outreach Worker)

"Our client was referred to us while he was rough sleeping. He’s from Sierre Leone and has no friends or relatives in London. We gave him a VoiceMail4All number as he had no other means of contact. When we managed to find him accommodation, we called him on the VoiceMail4All number to let him know and he is now securely housed. He also used the number to look for work, and he is now employed. VoiceMail4All really helped our client to get settled into his new country." (HOPE WorldWide)

"We started issuing VoiceMail4All numbers in November 2007. Since then, distressed British nationals returning from long periods abroad who have found themselves destitute, or individuals fleeing domestic violence or forced marriage situations, have all found the service to be invaluable. VoiceMail4all has made it possible for professionals to make various arrangements with these homeless or vulnerable individuals, including job interviews, benefit claims, housing assessments, hospital appointments, drug & alcohol support, mental health appointments and social work team contacts. Being able to provide vulnerable adults with a means of keeping contact with friends, family and professionals has made a huge positive impact to many lives. We would not have been able to assist as many individuals if we were not able use this new method of communicating with clients with important pieces of information. As grateful as we are as an organisation to be able to access the VoiceMail4All service, it is the homeless individuals themselves who, when they are at their most vulnerable, have expressed their uttermost appreciation for this positive service." (Heathrow Travel Care -- providing social care for those experiencing a crisis or problem in the airport community)

Outside London, VoiceMail4All is co-ordinated by one lead agency in each region. Any enquiries concerning the provision of the service in that region or new Partner Project requests should be made initially through these lead agencies. Please contact the appropriate Co-ordinator for your region: