Helping The Homeless And Others Find Jobs In Tulsa

Jamie McGriff, News On 6

TULSA, Oklahoma -- There is a program in Oklahoma which is helping some Oklahomans find jobs. It's called Community Voicemail.

The program gives job seekers a heads up on where the opportunities are.

It's especially handy for people who've hit hard times and may be living on the streets.

This voicemail program makes it easier for a potential employer and a job seeker to keep in contact with each other.

Tulsa is the only city in Oklahoma that's offering this national program.

Here's how it works.

You get a free local phone number with a pin to check into your very own voicemail box.

Lori Morton with the Tulsa Day Center collects information about job fair job openings, health fairs, and even events for Veterans and she sends out a mass message. That message goes out once a week to users.

Roughly 3,000 people have used Community Voicemail.

"If you don't have a reliable phone number for an employer to reach you, you're not going to get a job it's just not going to happen. So this does give people a reliable number," said Lori Morton.

With this program if you don't have transportation, the voicemail program notifies you of several different options.

You can get that number through several agencies in Tulsa. They are the Salvation Army, the Day Center, Workforce Oklahoma, Youth Services, just to name a few.

That person can check it out whenever they get access to a phone.

Douglas Atwater of Tulsa says the Community Voicemail helped him get back on his feet.

"A tremendous help. I mean because I was homeless. It's more professional and more confidential for the person looking for the job," said Douglas Atwater.

Again, the service is free.  To find out more, check out Community Voicemail Tulsa.