It started when she was 16 years old after her mother went to jail. “It” was sex trafficking. T. Stallings was in high school and had three siblings to support. She moved in with a male friend of their mother’s and was introduced to having sex with men for money.

“I saw fast money,” Stallings says of how her life changed during that time. “I was needing comfort, and I thought the men would take care of me.” Instead, sex trafficking meant moving constantly and living in hotels. She was making a lot of money sleeping with men and dancing, but she had nothing to show for it because of the manipulation of the people around her for many years.

“I was trapped, lonely and suicidal,” she says. “ It was traumatic. I just knew I would be dead, in jail or nothing good was going to come out of the situation.”

Then, at the age of 25, the son of a man she was living with told her about Wellspring. Wellspring is a Louisville nonprofit organization that helps adults with mental illness through behavioral health services, affordable housing, crisis stabilization programs, and supported employment. Stallings attended a Wellspring group session and found the support she was seeking.

She was diagnosed with PTSD, anxiety, and major depressive disorder. She now receives help from a Wellspring Targeted Case Manager, Therapist, and she participates in Wellspring’s Supported Employment program (IPS). Being a part of Wellspring has helped her make significant changes in her life.

“Setting boundaries was the biggest thing I had to learn,” she says. “I am learning how to limit and remove myself from the situations in my life that were causing my trauma. I am learning the steps toward making a change.”

With Wellspring assistance, Stallings is enrolled in JCTC classes and plans to study veterinary medicine. She currently has a dog and a gecko, but she says she would one day love to work with exotic animals – goals she says she would not have been able to dream about if she hadn’t connected with Wellspring.

“When you have a support system like Wellspring, things tend to fall into place. There’s less stress and I’m learning who I am, what triggers me, and what I am able to do. I am training my brain, and I have the mindset of telling myself, ‘I’m doing this for me.’ I don’t want to go back and now I know how to tell myself that I have value.”

Value that is reflected in the vision of Wellspring to have a community where adults with mental illness are valued, supported, and included.