Whoopi Goldberg (Archman8 Flickr Photostream/Creative Commons)

Whoopi Goldberg mentioned our friends at SplashLife, an organization that launches this fall, on Thursday’s episode of The View:

“A great young lady came around and I met her. Her name is Melissa Helmbrecht Martin. She was a young woman who was failing in school, just not interested in life, not doing anything and she met up with a mentor who said if you really want to see what’s going on in the world go see what’s happening with the homeless. [...]  She started something called SplashLife which is basically, you know how AARP can reach any person over fifty? Well SplashLife is meant to reach out to (Millennials) for anything that they may need.  It’s free.  It’s a website that will help kids through some of these periods ‘cause one of the things that they don’t have is that there’s not a community. You know, to talk to, to talk about it, just to unburden and what we saw when this teacher shot this piece was that kids are just…. they’re at the brink. … So what you can do: I’m encouraging everybody to go over to Splashlife.com and see what they’re doing, see what you can do because it doesn’t cost you anything. You don’t need money.”
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Hot on the trails of Whoopi Goldberg’s mention of Splashlife earlier today on The View, tomorrow night’s 20/20 features a segment called “Life on the Edge: The New Homeless.” EDARs, temporary shelters for the homeless, are featured as the solution for the increase in families coming to the Union Rescue Mission for shelter. The Mission, currently LA’s biggest homeless shelter, ordered an additional 46 EDARs due to the sharp rise in families coming to them for assistance, half of whom are homeless for the first time. They are even converting the chapel into an emergency shelter, similar to Red Cross.

Did you know that you can give a homeless family a shelter for just $500? Times are tough for everyone, but the true integrity of a country is always measured by how it treats its underpriviledged. TakePart and watch the preview for tomorrow’s 20/20 segment that airs at 10 pm.

Later this year Splashlife will launch, aiming to be an “AARP for young people.” I spoke with Melissa Helmbrecht Martin, Chairman and CEO, earlier today about the organization.

Melissa Helmbrecht Martin, Chairman and CEO of Splashlife

When Melissa was 15, she was failing classes and was encouraged by a mentor to volunteer at a homeless shelter for women and children. Melissa walked out of the shelter that day and never failed another class. Her low sense of self worth was transformed into a recognition that even she had a role to play. Since that time, Melissa has spearheaded over 30 grassroots projects and won numerous awards for her dedication to service. She’s started Splashlife “to engage young people in service as a way for them to respond to and cope with adversity.”

The first campaign is “Hunger and Homelessness in America.” For Melissa, the first step in her own empowerment was volunteering at the homeless shelter, and it seemed that activating their network to end homelessness was a seamless way to start. It was a natural fit to partner with EDAR (Everyone Deserves a Roof) as Splashlife co-founder and producer Peter Samuelson, started the nonprofit that provides mobile shelters to the homeless, each costing just under $500. It’s a brilliant example of one way to design simple temporary solutions for complex issues.

The issue of homelessness can be daunting at times, and Melissa and I discussed how this often keeps people from taking action. During a time of epic uncertainty and families losing homes every minute, Melissa says “We must provide young people with the ways to exercise their power.”

You can takepart by joining our social action campaign for The Soloist. You can also text SPLASH to ACTION (228466) to get updates about Splashlife.

email: info@splashlife.com / twitter: @splashlife / fax: 323.315.5188

Launching in September 2009, Splashlife is devoted to empowering youth, working with nonprofit and corporate partners to enable its members to take action for social change.  The organization’s first campaign, “Hunger and homelessness in America,” will address the increasing number of homeless people in a time of epic uncertainty in our country. Splashlife is partnering with EDAR (Everyone Deserves a Roof) to raise awareness about solutions to homelessness. For more information on EDAR visit our page devoted to the nonprofit.