When a potential employer wants to call you back, having to admit you don't have a phone can be a deal-breaker.

Mischelle McMillan of West Homestead knows firsthand how awkward that situation is.

Unemployed, living in temporary housing and unable to afford phone service, she has relied on Community Voice Mail for the past few months as she seeks a new job.

"It's a blessing," she said of the service offered through the Travelers Aid Society, which is working with more than two dozen partner agencies. The effort is being funded with a two-year grant of about $130,000 from the Pittsburgh Foundation.

"Community Voice Mail is available to anybody going through a crisis or a major transition," said Katie Shogan, program manager for the free service.

Fully 90 percent of the people who have signed up say they are using Community Voice Mail as part of their job-seeking efforts, Ms. Shogan said. Other reasons for enrolling include apartment hunting, 82 percent; keeping in touch with health-care providers, 78 percent; and communicating with social services agencies, 61 percent.

Two-thirds of those who have signed up for the Pittsburgh-area program are male. More than 40 percent are between the ages of 26 and 44.

More than half, 56 percent, are homeless, and another 14 percent say they are at risk of losing their present accommodations. About 42 percent are unemployed, and 20 percent are disabled.

"Community Voice Mail offers them a means to be connected again," Ms. Shogan said. "If you are trying to find a job or a house or stay in touch with your doctor, it's important to have a voice mail box. If you can't be called back, you can miss out on some great opportunities."

Ms. McMillan signed up for Community Voice Mail at the recommendation of counselors at the Mon Valley Initiative, a nonprofit coalition of community and economic development groups.

A 1976 graduate of Duquesne High School, she has worked for a variety of social service agencies and businesses over the years. Seeking retraining, she recently completed a computer-skills class. She hopes to find a new job in any of several fields, including administrative assistant, data-entry clerk or environmental technician.

"Access to voice mail is one of the keys to finding gainful employment," she said. "I'm grateful to have it."

She also hopes that the free voice-mail service will help her in her hunt for a new apartment. She was burned out of her home earlier this month.

Since the service was introduced locally in 2009, it has served about 400 clients, Ms. Shogan said. It is modeled on a program developed in 1991 in Seattle. That effort has since spread to 46 cities and serves 40,000 people each year.

Offering Community Voice Mail was a natural fit for Travelers Aid, according to its executive director, Robert H. Lindner.

"We have an existing network of partner agencies that work with low-income families and individuals," he said. "We think this is a service people who are struggling financially really can use."

His agency linked up with the program at the recommendation of Marc Cherna, director of Allegheny County Department of Human Services.

The program costs $65,000 to $70,000 to run each year.

The two-year grant from the Pittsburgh Foundation will run out in February 2011, and program supporters hope funding will be picked up by the county.

Ms. Shogan has been meeting every six months with Bob Stumpp, a senior policy manager for the county, to update him on the program. A spokeswoman for the human services department said it was too soon to comment on future county support for the effort.

Setting up a personalized voice-mail box takes only about 10 minutes, Ms. Shogan said. It can be done over the phone or at either of the Travelers Aid Society's two Downtown offices: in the Greyhound Bus Terminal, 11th Street and Liberty Avenue, and at agency headquarters, 103 Smithfield St. More information also is available by calling Ms. Shogan at 412-281-0751.

Clients are assigned a password-protected mailbox, and they have the option of recording a personal greeting. The average client uses the service for about four months.

About 260 clients have a voice-mail box on the system.

They also get periodic tips on job hunting and local activities. Each week, Ms. Shogan sends all of them a phone message with information about job fairs, employment training, public health programs and free community events.

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