In a move that is sure to become a platform for aspiring politicians everywhere, Google has announced it will give every homeless person in San Francisco free voicemail. After all, how do you stay connected and communicate with people when you don’t even have a house to call from?
They’ll be working with homeless shelters to distribute genuine local phone numbers to homeless individuals. These numbers can be set up to receive their calls from any location — it even allows them to create their own greeting message.
Why is Google doing this? Conspiracy theorists may believe they are extending their omniscient reach into the hearts of America’s less fortunate. But Google says it’s just to help homeless people get back on their feet. Think about it like this: If someone who lives in a shelter tries to apply for a job, how do they give the employer a call-back number?
That’s where this free voicemail comes in. Any phone can be used to check their messages. This is probably the first time they’ve ever had something like this made available to them, so it’ll be interesting to see how this project pans out. If it succeeds, they’ll try expanding into the rest of California — and beyond!
