Audio conferencing has many applications that go far beyond corporate board rooms. The military, law enforcement, school administrators, local governments, all of these and more have made great use of recent breakthroughs in telecommunications technology. One program uses a scheduled monthly audio conference in its bid to alleviate - and hopefully eradicate - the pressing social problem of homelessness.
Coast To Coast Assistance
Sponsored by the National Alliance to End Homelessness, the National Council of State Housing Agencies, the Council of State Community Development Agencies, the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors, the Leadership to End Homelessness Audio Conference Series is designed to do just that. Its focus ranges from the urban Eastern seaboard, where homelessness has more crime- and climate-related risks, to the Golden State, where substance abuse issues have been a frequent subject of conference calls. Another point of concern for the Series is youth homelessness.
Linking Arms
The conferences highlight the institutions and events in urban areas that extend a hand to some of America's most vulnerable citizens. One of the points they stress is that gainful employment is one of the most effective means of reducing homelessness. Community leaders are able to get a better grasp of the needs of those they hope to serve, and get a better feel for the best ways achieve their goals, through audio conferencing.
Social improvement and the reversal of urban decay have gotten a huge boost from audio conferencing technology, speeding up the mechanisms of change that effect the lives of so many people. To the needy, how and why things get done are not of as much importance as the accomplishments themselves; it is the duty of innovation.
