NBC Right Now/KNDO/KNDU Tri-Cities, Yakima, WA |Voicemail boxes help people without a phone

Losing your job can make it difficult to keep up with bills. If you can't afford a phone, it is even harder for a future employer to get in touch with you. Community Action Connections helps people struggling with utility bills and rent but it also helps people get their lives back on track.

The Community Voicemail Program provides a free personal messaging system for anyone who wants one, much like a P.O. Box for voicemail. They are often life savers for victims of domestic violence and people who need to get a job, but don't have a personal phone line.

There are 200 personal voicemail boxes available through various organizations in Benton, Franklin, Yakima, Walla Walla and Whitman counties, including Worksource.

Ronda Jayne, with CAC says, "it doesn't make public the fact that they could even be homeless. I mean maybe they don't have a home period, much less a phone in it. It enables them to have a sample of normalcy."

You need to be 18-years-old or older. You fill out a form at the Community Action Connections in Pasco or any of the following organizations:

Community Voice Mail Location Sites Affiliated with Community Action Connections of Pasco, Washington:

Alternatives to Violence                       Pullman, WA                Whitman County

BFCAC, Community Services            Pasco, WA                  Franklin County

BFCAC                                               Prosser, WA                Benton County

BF Health District                         Kennewick, WA            Benton County

Blue Mountain Action Council            Walla Walla, WA            Walla Walla County

Division of Vocational Rehab              Yakima, WA                Yakima County

Domestic Violence Services                       Richland, WA              Benton County

Juvenile Rehabilitation Admin            Richland, WA              Benton County

Juvenile Rehabilitation                Yakima, WA                Yakima County

Kennewick CSO                            Kennewick, WA            Benton County

Pullman Community Action              Pullman, WA                Whitman County

Sunnyside CSO                            Sunnyside, WA            Yakima County

Walla Walla CSO                            Walla Walla, WA            Walla Walla County

WA State Dept of Corrections            Yakima, WA                Yakima County

WorkSource Columbia Basin              Kennewick, WA            Benton County

WorkSource Pullman                              Pullman, WA                Whitman County

WorkSource Sunnyside                     Sunnyside, WA            Yakima County

WorkSource Walla Walla                  Walla Walla, WA            Walla Walla County

Yakima Neighborhood Health Serv.            Yakima, WA                Yakima County