Message Line

The message line is a public phone number with a local area code where anyone can leave a message for someone who does not have reliable access to a phone or email. Every call to VOICE's line goes to voicemail, which Google Voice transcribes and emails to the Switchboard, so that every message is recorded and none depends on a volunteer being free at the moment of the call.

The Account and the Number

VOICE uses a personal Google Voice number, which as of 2026 is free in the United States with a Google account. It provides the features VOICE needs, such as voicemail transcripts sent by email, ringing several linked phones at once, and call settings that can be changed at any time.

1. Create a dedicated account. Create a Gmail account that is used for nothing else, and register the number to it rather than to a volunteer's own account. Keeping its password and two-step sign-in codes in a shared password manager lets more than one administrator sign in to it.
2. Claim the number. Choose a number with a local area code at voice.google.com. Claiming one requires verifying an existing U.S. phone number, which can be a volunteer's phone or VOICE's cell phone.
3. Turn on voicemail transcription and email notifications in the Google Voice settings, and record the greeting described below.
4. Send every call to voicemail by turning on Do Not Disturb or leaving no linked phones set to ring.

Google Voice for Google Workspace, the version tied to an organization's account, is a paid add-on. As of 2026 it starts at about $10 per user per month, even for organizations using Google Workspace for Nonprofits, and personal Google Voice avoids that cost.

Voicemail Transcripts

Google Voice emails each voicemail as a transcript to the account where the number is registered, with the caller's number and a link to the recording. The Switchboard reads that Gmail account through a short Google Apps Script, which its email settings show ready to copy. It recognizes Google Voice's voicemail emails and makes each one a relay marked as voicemail, with the caller's number recorded as a way to reach them. If the number belongs to a different Gmail account from the one the Switchboard reads, a Gmail filter in the Google Voice account can forward voicemail notifications to the right one.

Keeping the Number Active

As of 2026, Google's help page says that Google may reclaim a personal Google Voice number that has had no activity for a long time, after a warning that gives the date. It also says that making a call, sending a text message, or listening to voicemail in Google Voice counts as activity. Incoming calls and voicemail are not listed, and volunteers who read transcripts in the Switchboard may never open Google Voice itself. A short call or text from the account once a month, which VOICE includes in its monthly checklist, keeps the number active.

Internet Numbers and Verification Codes

Google Voice numbers are internet-based (VoIP) numbers, and many banks and government websites refuse to send verification codes to them. For that reason, VOICE also keeps at its in-person sessions a basic smartphone on an ordinary prepaid cellular plan, which receives codes for people while a volunteer is present. A carrier with good 4G LTE coverage and VoLTE (Voice over LTE) where the sessions are held works best.

The Greeting

VOICE's greeting tells callers how to leave a useful message, what happens to it, where to find volunteers in person, that a message shown on Beacon can be read by anyone, and what to do in an emergency. It promises no time for a response, because volunteers are not available at all hours and a promise the team cannot always keep does callers more harm than good. A greeting along these lines, with your own details in place of the words in parentheses, covers each of these.

You have reached (name). Please leave your name, the name of the person or office you are trying to reach, and a way to reach you if you have one. Every message is written down, and volunteers work to deliver it and, if you left a way to reach you, tell you once they have worked on it. You can also find volunteers in person (when and where). If you would like your message shown on our public screens and sheets, say so, and remember that anyone can read what they show. This line is not an emergency service, so in an emergency, call 911, and for a mental health crisis, call or text 988.

The greeting needs updating whenever the times or places of in-person sessions change.

Answering Calls Live

A group that would rather have calls answered during sessions can add its smartphone and the phones of on-call volunteers as linked numbers under Settings > Calls > Linked numbers and turn each one on or off as needed. A Bluetooth adapter, such as the CELL2JACK or the XLink BT2, can connect the smartphone to an ordinary corded handset at a private spot. Before buying one, confirm that it has an RJ-11 jack and works with the smartphone's operating system. Calls answered live still need to reach the Switchboard, so a card by the handset can give whoever answers a greeting and a simple way to write down a message.

Alternatives

• Google Voice for Google Workspace connects to an organization's account, at the cost described above.
• Other internet phone services can do the same work if they deliver voicemail transcripts by email.
• A prepaid cellular line with a voicemail-to-email service also works, although it costs more each month and usually lacks transcription.