When Crystal brought her three children to New York City from Florida in 2003, they were homeless and overwhelmed, and she needed medical care she could trust. “I'm very, very picky,” she said. At The Floating Hospital, “Everyone was friendly on the first day and they were gentle with the kids when it was time for vaccines.” Their basic care grew into much more: dentistry, behavioral health, the pharmacy, and health education, where her kids snacked on nutritious food, played games, and learned about topics like wellness. Over time, they said their providers began to feel like family. The sense of family deepened as her boys grew. Younger staff members became mentors, helping them through the struggles of growing up. “Anytime I need help with something, they give me good advice or tell me things I shouldn't be doing to help me be better in the future,” said Crystal's son Keemoko. He trusts them with things he won't tell his friends, knowing these conversations will stay private.

Many of those staff members are counselors at Camp Rise Up, where Keemoko learned to navigate peer pressure and understand his own emotional and physical development. These were lessons he said he wasn't getting at home or school. “I've learned a lot of things there that make me feel different and more grown up.” Between the health education and life skills classes, he has picked up new basketball skills, hiked through the woods, and sat around the campfire with other teens learning resilience. Some lessons have stayed with him. “A couple of weeks after I left Camp Rise Up, I was peer pressured to do something, but I remembered what to do in that situation, and I did exactly what they told me to do.” Keemoko is grateful for camp and the checkups he and his siblings have received. But what means the most to him is simpler than that: seeing his mom healthier than she's ever been.