INDIANAPOLIS — The weight of senior year sits heavy on 17 year old IzeYahna Pranger.
“Thinking about applying to college and these AP and dual credit classes," Pranger said. “We have periods, we have mood swings, we have all these things. A lot of times it can be dismissed, like ‘oh, you’re just a teenage girl.’”
Pranger found support at nonprofit Leading Ladies.
The youth organization has helped girls in Indy develop into young women since 2005.
“I have really good talks with Miss La Tonya. she’s helped me become a better young woman, just like the way she pours into me, the advice that she gives me on how to handle situations," Pranger said.
Founder and CEO La Tonya Brown says the needs of the youth she serves has changed in recent years.
Leading Ladies' primary focus is currently on mental health.
“What we found was that we weren’t allowing them to just talk about everything that’s going on and the things that they’re dealing with," Brown said. “The City of Indianapolis has lost tons of young ladies to a variety of different things. We’re losing young ladies to suicide at alarming rates. We’re losing young ladies to sex trafficking.”
The organization's bi-weekly meetings are meant to create a space for conversation, expression and support.
“It makes me feel like I can get all this heavy stuff off of my chest and it makes me feel like I can just rest," 12-year-old Lanaia Gardner said.
The middle schooler has puberty, bullying and social media on her mind.
Coming to Leading Ladies makes her feel less alone.
“With others responses, it helps me realize that other people are feeling this way too," she said.
