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Haumana Highlights: Unshakable Purpose Ignites A Human Services Warrior In Spring Taylor

Haumana Highlights: Unshakable Purpose Ignites A Human Services Warrior In Spring Taylor
October 30, 2022 Aysha Jarnesky

One of the many strong points about UHMC is its outstanding Human Services courses. The instructors are enthusiastic and effective in instilling compassionate drives towards the helping services, but what I find most powerful in being a human services student myself, is being amongst the other students. Many of us know of each other from within our island home, but what brings us together today is a deep hunger to influence positive change in our community. Spring Taylor is one of those students. In an interview for Ho‘oulu Student News, unashamed and raw, she affirms her testimony of what drove her from darkness to light.

Spring describes her past self as a menace to society, meaning she’s used drugs, and lived life on the edge. She knows all about that world yet reflects on these times with a triumphant tone.

“For me and where I’m at today, I’ve realized that a lot of this stems from my childhood, I was a broken little girl, I broke the law, used drugs, I was just trying to cope. I was deep in addiction and wasn’t aware of the pain I carried since a child. I wasn’t living, just existing. Spiritually bankrupt, like living but not alive. This stemmed from experiencing severe abuse as a child. Life was very unstable, there was drug use around me, and I suffered trauma from this. A huge factor was trauma I suffered from an absent and abusive father.”

Spring says it took a long time for her to grow up, with set backs occurring like going to jail. She was close to having her parental rights taken away too. She explained however, that one desolate moment turned life saving occurrence, was divine intervention. One day, after using a bad needle, she was arrested and sent to the hospital. She could have died that day, but instead she went into jail this time, and had the opportunity to get clean and join a drug program.

Spring Taylor Compared A Photo Of Herself Then and Now.

“Because God intervened, I knew it was all his plan. Now that I look back on it, I wasn’t happy about going to jail, but it actually saved my life, and saved me from losing my children, which I had to earn back my privileges to. I had neglected my kids for drugs, and all that had mattered was getting high. It hurts to know this today, but I’m learning to forgive myself. I was able to get them back through hard work and dedication. I graduated from Malama Family Recovery Center and the Family court drug program. Then a year later I started working for that same treatment program that helped me recover. The thought of losing my children both scared me and motivated me to pull through, and now I had a chance to be on the other side, and prove myself worthy to be a respectable, productive member of society. Dealing with the childhood trauma was also imperative to healing, I did therapy, went to church, and did narcotics anonymous. I am so grateful, I changed everything about my life. I unlearned things I had learned in survival mode, its so hard to come out of addiction.”

Spring speaks with power and determination but does admit that she experiences fear. She’s afraid to fail, and lose her children. She had been through the recovery process multiple times and failed before. Her fear is falling but she understands that its ok to fall, just not in that way. Now she’s an over achiever and a perfectionist, which helps her to ensure she stays the path. Spring has been clean for four and a half years now, and expresses- the sky is the limit. She is grateful for the chance to be the best mother and member of society she can be.

Spring is now a drug counselor in training, and is in pursuit of a CSAC. Her journey forward has no end in sight as she wishes to shoot further for a bachelor’s degree and even a masters in social work so that she can get into the mental health field and help people in that capacity. She briefly mentioned something that is a very sensitive subject for her and her family- the loss of her younger brother to suicide. He has now become another motivation in her life, and she advocates fiercely for mental health and suicide awareness in his honor.

Springs Children and Ohana

Springs initial path was troublesome, and at times was filled with heart ache and loss. She experienced very real darknesses, and had many moments of despair and hopelessness, but her journey now informs her future. All these life moments led her to her light, and now she truly shines. She is a warrior for community and goodness, and is a powerful force for our Maui people. She thanks God for intervening in her life and displays a stronghold in faith. She feels blessed and grateful for the awareness that she has now. She gives thanks her mother who she calls her biggest hero, someone who never gave up on her no matter what. She thanks her children for being the inspiration she needed. She has found an unshakeable purpose in becoming a human services warrior.

Comment (1)

  1. Keith Jajko 1 year ago

    Just now discovered this article. Well done! Spring touched this addict 2 summers ago, and I’m still going strong at 18 mos. clean & healthy. She is an inspiration, no doubt.

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