He may only be 8 years old, but Daniel Victorino is wise beyond his years.
"There are millions of other families out there that are like us and if anyone can - just help them," explained the boy.
He's had to grow up fast. Just a few weeks ago his family - who had been living in a pay-by-the-week motel - faced having to live in their van.
PICS: Take a photo walk-through the new apartments in Kansas City serving homeless families
"I think we'd have to live in a van like my mom said or live in a homeless shelter or lose my mother," he said.
Being split up, and the children becoming wards of the states, was a real fear for the family. But now Daniel, his mom and dad and his little brother, Zachary, live in their own two-bedroom apartment thanks to River of Refuge, an organization that helps homeless families with shelter, food and clothing.
"Back in the hotel it was week-to-week, not knowing if we would be there, if we'd be living in our van," said his mother, Michelle Robinson. "It was very terrifying. I didn't know what I was going to do. I thought I would lose my kids. It's a huge blessing that I found out about River of Refuge and that we were able to get in here in the nick of time."
The families at River of Refuge live rent- and utility-free during their entire stay. A team of case workers also provides them with financial counseling. The goal is twofold - to allow the families to save as much money as they can and pay off debt, and to teach them to be financially literate so they can break the cycle of homelessness.
WATCH: See what a one-bedroom apartment and a two-bedroom apartment look like at River of Refuge in the videos below. (Can't see them? Watch them here.)
"The average age of homelessness in Missouri is 7," said River of Refuge Program Director Stephanie Keck. "If you think about that, that means it's affecting everyone. It doesn't discriminate based on gender or demographic."
Once families are ready, anywhere between four and nine months, they move out on their own.
The program at River of Refuge is set up to offer free temporary housing for working families who qualify, allowing them to save their own money toward affordable stable housing. The 5-year-old nonprofit expects to have all 11 apartments full after they've raised or surpassed fundraising goals.
The first floor east wing of the former Park Lane Hospital in Kansas City, Missouri, serves as the first phase of River of Refuge's multi-bedroom, $3.2 million renovation project.
The 50,000-square-foot building had been left vacant for 10 years before the River of Refuge founder, John Wiley of Raytown, purchased the building in 2010 with a dream of transforming it into a home for the families who were living in motels and struggling to get back on their feet and into a home of their own.
"This dream has always been about a community coming together to help local families with children. That's why I'm confident that as we enter the final stretch, we'll find the extra funding we need to open River of Refuge and help these families," said Wiley.
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Terra Hall can be reached at terra.hall@kshb.com.
