Who We Are:
Freedom Obtained by Cultivating an Understanding of Self(FOCUS) is a consortium of community-based organizations: Together Let's Rise, The Lotus House Foundation, Porcelain Dolls Project, and Rodney King Foundation. FOCUS provides supportive services to youth and young adults affected by systemic barriers in Los Angeles County.

Who We Serve: 
We serve transition-age youth and young adults ages 13-25 with mental illness, trauma, substance abuse, pregnancy, homeless or at-risk of homelessness, juvenile justice, and the child welfare system. 

FOCUS reflects the communities, cultural backgrounds, and lived experiences of the youth and young adults they serve. The partnerships increase community-based supports to link youth and young adults to mental health, education, job training, mentoring, and other important resources and opportunities, focusing on trauma-informed care and culturally relevant programs that connect youth and young adults to their communities and build a strong sense of self. ​

Dr. Destiny Hill, PsyD
Co-Founder of The Lotus House Foundation

Monifa Banks
Co-Founder of The Lotus House Foundation

Mission: To help transitional age minority foster youth gather resources to aid in post-secondary education and career opportunities and successful transition to independent living and thinking. Provide health and wellness support through self-care and self-awareness. 

Vision: To provide resources for comprehensive evidence-based services that have real life applications and long-term impact amongst transitional age minority youth in Los Angeles County. Ultimately, aiding in the decrease of homelessness and unemployment within this population by tailoring goals and services to each individual’s strengths and needs. 

Na'Keithia K. Whitney, MBA
Founder of Porcelain Dolls Project

Mission: Porcelain Dolls mission is to help empower girls and women who are survivors of childhood sexual abuse by providing tools and resources to enable survivors to rewrite the narrative of their lives though knowing, understanding, and preservation of self.

Vision: To educate on the AFTERMATH of childhood sexual abuse. To encourage the JOURNEY from victim to survivor. To help empower survivors to TAKE BACK their lives.

Dr. Shadeiyah Edwards, PsyD
Founder of Together Let's Rise

​Mission: Together Let’s Rise is dedicated to serving marginalized communities affected by mass incarceration, gang violence, and mental illness in South Central Los Angeles.

​Vision: To break the cycle of violence, crime, and incarceration in South Central Los Angeles by providing a holistic approach to treatment that is trauma informed.

Lora Dene King
Founder of Rodney King Foundation

Mission: We work in the community to promote positive race relations and achieve social justice.


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Vision: We seek a world of hope, tolerance and social justice, where divisiveness has been overcome and all people live together peacefully and harmoniously.