In 2018, Ashley fled an abusive household in Georgia and came home to New York with her children and practically nothing else. “I literally had to leave with one bag.” From the beginning, The Floating Hospital made sure she and her family had the basics they needed to survive and a few other things that made life a little easier to manage. One of those things was a simple book bag. “That book bag carried me through a lot. I know it probably seems foolish—because it's a book bag—but I needed it for school. It helped me because I didn't have anything,” she recalled.

While she found clothes and employment help, our staff also helped track down her children's vaccination records so she could enroll them in school. They gave her a tuberculosis test required to stay in the domestic violence shelter the city had found for her. And as she began exploring different career paths, “they helped me understand the things that I needed in order to get where I wanted to go—information, resources, all the things that anyone needs.” Piece by piece, everything came together: transportation, healthcare, clothing, hygiene and school supplies, counseling, and more. “Now I have my own apartment,” she said. “What makes The Floating Hospital different and special is that they provide so much.” For Ashley, that meant a path forward and a home of her own.