Seventeen years ago, Delexis walked onto a shuttle van with a double stroller, two daughters, and a son who hadn't spoken a word. She was 23, living in a Bronx shelter, overweight, diabetic, and searching for a way forward. Her son had Down syndrome and her daughters needed medical care and someone to confide in when their lives felt uncertain. The Floating Hospital sent a van right to the shelter door, clearing one of the biggest hurdles of finding care with few resources: getting there. The ride changed everything. At the clinic, staff found ways to reach her son that she hadn't thought possible. “My son was supposed to be nonverbal,” Delexis says, “and now he's speaking. That's amazing to me.”

In the health education room, the family learned how to cook, snack, and live differently. Over the years, Delexis found our podiatry, behavioral health, and life-skills departments, where she and her family found treatment, but where she was also connected to housing help, job resources, and more. Now, with many pounds lost, the diabetes is gone as well. Money saved on medical bills became money for an apartment of their own. Her daughters have attended Camp Rise Up, our sleepaway camp upstate where teens build confidence through health education and outdoor adventure. One daughter has since returned as a summer intern, building further skills to take to the workplace.