By Terrence Brown | Pennsylvania Talks

Chester, Pa. —  Inside J. Lewis Crozer Library, a circle of women is doing something that doesn’t always happen in Chester – talking openly. The circle is called Women With a Purpose, a bi-weekly series built by 25-year-old Chester native Nya’Kayla Brown

Brown, who goes by Kay, is a proud Chester High School graduate who got married and had two children right after graduation. She said the group started with her own story. “Women With a Purpose started based off my own experience after becoming a wife and a mom so young,” Brown said. “I wanted to create the space I didn’t have.”That feeling — of becoming a mother without a space to be honest — is what she wanted to fix.

According to the CDC, about 1 in 8 women in the U.S. report symptoms of postpartum depression. Brown said she saw that isolation in herself and in other young moms around her.”I wanted to give back to a community that was once and still is mine,” she said. “My vision is to help women see it through during their hard times.”On Monday, her “Finding Your Voice” session at Crozer Library mixed guided activities with real testimony. The format is simple: group discussion, reflection, and sisterhood. Participants are invited to share their own experiences and offer insight to others.

It’s working, Brown said. One woman recently told her she had stopped coming to events in the city altogether.”There was a woman I spoke with who said she loved my theme,” Brown said. “She said she wouldn’t attend another Chester event until she came to mine.”

This month, Brown partnered with Get Bodied by Fatimah, a local body contouring business, for a “Meet and Learn” on confidence and body image — a topic Brown said comes up constantly when women talk about mental health.

Brown said the series is for all women, but she especially wants to see younger women in the room. “I want younger women to know they don’t have to go through it alone,” she said. “We do all things women empowerment and also love.”

What’s Next:

The next Women With a Purpose meeting is Sept. 22 at J. Lewis Crozer Library. Updates and upcoming events are posted on Facebook at @modestkay.