Currently, homeless and other marginalised groups of society face an inability to communicate with the public. A phone number and associated voicemail system would serve as a perpetual communication point between these people and the rest of the community.

The Community Voicemail project concerns the implementation of a voicemail system, as part of the communications protocol between the publishers of the Big Issue magazine and its vendors. It is purported that the vendors will each receive an individual phone number, which will be used as a contact point from both the Big Issue and other third party organisations.

The goals of the project are twofold – to improve the business efficiency at the Big Issue, and to improve the standard of living of the vendors. The existing process at the Big Issue involves ‘street running’ and word of mouth communication, so the voicemail system will allow information to be broadcast to vendors more efficiently. Secondly, the system will provide the Big Issue’s vendors with a fixed contact number, which they can use when applying for housing, employment, or other social services.

An evaluation framework will be built in to the Community Voicemail project, allowing its outcomes to be measured and used as a basis for future SIFE projects. Furthermore, recommendations will be provided regarding the investment and support structure necessary for future implementations of the project.