West Philadelphia boutique opens to help formerly incarcerated women rebuild: "I'm doing my best."

Inside a small West Philadelphia boutique, women are preparing for something big: second chances.

The Closet of Hope and Second Chances is the latest mission from Mothers in Charge, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit widely known for supporting families affected by violence.

The boutique offers clothing and other essentials to women returning home from prison, helping remove one of the barriers they may encounter while preparing to reenter the workforce.

"When you don't have money and you don't have support and family and things, where else are you going to turn?" said program participant Jasmine Jones.

Jones spent two years and five months incarcerated. She first connected with Mothers in Charge through one of the organization's reentry classes and is now working to rebuild her life.

"Prison is when I was at my lowest. I was at my rock bottom — and that's what made me change," Jones said.

Mothers in Charge was founded by Dr. Dorothy Johnson-Speight after her 24-year-old son, Khaaliq Jabaar Johnson, was murdered. For more than 20 years, the organization has worked to interrupt violence and support families. Its reentry program has helped people returning home from incarceration for the past eight years.

"People who come home need help," Johnson-Speight said.

At the Closet of Hope and Second Chances, that help is offered with dignity. Organizers want women like Jones to be recognized for who they are now—not defined solely by where they have been.

"If you just met me today, you had no idea that I was ever incarcerated," Jones said. "That means I'm getting up every day. I'm doing everything I'm supposed to be doing. I'm doing my best."

Jones is now waiting to learn whether she has been accepted into a fellowship program through Eastern State Penitentiary.

The Closet of Hope and Second Chances will celebrate its grand opening Friday at 10 a.m.