Consolidated voicemail platform

A method of providing voicemail services of a secure facility, the method comprising:

• receiving a telephone call from a caller outside the secure facility, the telephone call being initiated by a calling telephone number;
• identifying the calling telephone number;
• comparing the calling telephone number with a list of telephone numbers associated with a plurality of residents;
• associating the calling telephone number with one of the plurality of residents when a match exists between the calling telephone number and a telephone number associated with the respective resident;
• determining if the caller has previously left a voicemail for the resident;
• determining whether the resident has permission to receive voicemail from the caller by accessing stored call permissions information containing permissible callers;
• and
• determining whether sufficient funds exist in an account associated with the caller;
• when the resident has permission to receive voicemail from the caller and sufficient funds exist in an account associated with the caller:
• receiving a voicemail message from the caller,
• storing the voicemail message on a database at a central call center that is outside the facility,
• receiving at the central call center, a request from the resident to retrieve the voicemail message,
• retrieving the voicemail message from the database,
• playing the voicemail message to the resident, and
• providing an administrator with access to the voicemail message;
• and
• when the resident does not have permission to receive voicemail from the caller:
• blocking the receipt of the voicemail, and
• blocking the storage of the voicemail on the database.