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Homeless people in San Francisco can access voicemails by typing a special code into any phone
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Google connects San Francisco homeless

Free phone number and voicemail account

Iain Thomson, vnunet.com 03 Mar 2008
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Google has announced plans to give every homeless person in San Francisco a phone number and a voicemail account that they can check from any phone in the city.

The scheme has been set up using the infrastructure from Grand Central, a telecoms routing firm Google acquired last year. Over 4,000 voice mailboxes have been set up for the purpose.

"We are firm believers in the power of technology to improve the daily lives of individuals and communities as a whole," said Craig Walker, a senior product manager of voice products for Google.

"Access to phone and voicemail services is one way that Google can help San Francisco's homeless stay connected with family, friends, social workers, health care providers and potential employers."

The scheme is being promoted in homeless shelters around the city as part of Mayor Gavin Newsom's Project Homeless Connect.

"Providing phone and messaging capabilities is an extraordinary step forward in the city's commitment to addressing the needs of this vulnerable community," said Newsom.

The scheme will let homeless people access voicemails by typing a special code into any phone and will let them record a greeting for callers.

See also:

GoogleSimple site design with no HTML coding  03 Mar 2008
GoogleSearch giant is number one business brand in the UK  27 Feb 2008
Doctor and patient'Patient-centric' access to health records  22 Feb 2008
Tech chiefs raising awareness of homeless children  19 Jul 2007
Children's charity NCH hopes to top last year's £250,000  26 May 2006

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