IMG_6188.jpg
Adams Street Window.jpg
 

FOCUS is an organization built on the love for our children and the dedication to helping them to succeed. Our children are the future! They must be protected; educated, and fueled.

Our youth must be encouraged and inspired to be great, strive on becoming greater, reaching for the impossible and creating the inevitable!

We believe every child is designed and destined for greatness. This is why we have dedicated our lives to advocate for the youth in a way that instills positivity and self-perseverance.

Every child will have the tools and resources inspiring them to reach all goals they set forth, and defeat the negative image that so many of society's statistics point out. These tools and resources will help promote positivity and strengthen our communities unity, ultimately ensuring the safety of our youth and the security of future for generations to come.

FOCUS (For Our Children’s Undistracted Success) was founded in honor of the life and tragic death of Justus Howell (shot and killed by Zion police at the age of 17). LaToya Howell Stephen (mother of Justus), along with Alice Howell (grandmother of Justus), felt the youth in their communities needed much more advocacy to bring about sufficient resources and positive change to broaden the chances of survival in such poverty-stricken neighborhoods. F.O.C.U.S, a not for profit, provides mentoring, technology literacy, academic tutoring, advanced music/arts models, grief counseling, and scholarship programming to help children in Lake County, Illinois.