Woman writes songs to raise funds for hospice for the homeless

By Leah Rainwater

One St. Joseph woman is using her songwriting as a creative outlet to raise awareness for those in need.

Taylor Presley didn’t know what she wanted to be when she grew up until she discovered what she describes as a “pull” to go to Maui, Hawaii, in 2012.

“When I got there, I didn’t know what I was supposed to do,” Presley said. “Then I decided to go back to college, but I didn’t know what I was going to study.”

It wasn’t until Presley met a homeless man that she discovered her path.

“(He) was dying and he was an alcoholic,” Presley said. “I became his friend and I told him, you know, when he was ready to give up alcohol, I would take him to the Aloha House, which was a recovery center for alcoholics and drug addicts.”

After being able to help her friend get admitted to the Aloha House, Presley said she called to check on him on his fourth day of recovery only to find he had died.

“It was heartbreaking. So then I decided I knew what I wanted to do,” Presley said. “I wanted to open up a hospice for the homeless.”

She graduated from the University of Hawaii with her Bachelor of Science degree in nursing in 2019. Then came a series of obstacles.

“During COVID, I received a diagnosis of terminal stage 3, low-grade ovarian cancer,” Presley said. “I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with my life. You know, my prognosis was up to nine years.”

But the troubles didn’t end with her cancer diagnosis.

“Then the Lahaina fires happened,” Presley said. “I knew it would be really tough to get funding for (homeless) hospice with the tragedy of the Lahaina fires.”

Presley found herself moving back to St. Joseph to take care of her sister. Then, a bad fall, resulting in an injury in both of her knees, gave Presley more time for creativity.

“You know, I could sit at home and I could feel sorry for myself about all life’s disappointments, or I could find a way to overcome all of these obstacles,” she said.

Writing songs became an outlet for Presley.

“I started writing and I wrote a beautiful song, and that’s called ‘Maui Strong,’” she said. “It’s about the people of Lahaina that had survived the fire and the devastation.”

Now, Presley has written more than 160 songs, gaining inspiration from Elvis Presley, the Beatles, Pink Floyd and even fellow St. Joseph native Eminem. She wants to be able to use funds generated from her creativity to start up hospice care for the homeless.

“You know, my experience with John, the homeless man, I was going to name the hospice ‘Agape Hospice’ in memory of John,” she said. “But I would love to see a chain, a chain of non-profits all across the country.”

Presley says she will begin her treatment for ovarian cancer at KU Medical Center in November. However, she hopes to return to Maui at some point.

“I love Maui. I love nature, I love watching the whales,” she said. “It is a hard place to survive, there’s different obstacles, it’s so far away from the mainland and housing is very tight right now due to the Lahaina fires. But there’s also a lot of growth.”