Angela Williams: The Voice of “Focus Point”
Felice McWilliams
“Helpingpeoplefocusonthehelpthey needanddeserveisthenumberone priority”
If you’ve ever had moments when you needed help with your mental and emotional well being and you didn’t know where to go, or who to turn to, there is a person and place you need to know about. Angela Williams, owner and CEO of FOCUS POINT, LLC is located right here in Danville, at 2321 Riverside Drive. Angela has worked in the Mental Health profession for the past 19 years, and has three additional locations to service people with mental and emotional challenges in Lynchburg, Martinsville, and Richmond Virginia areas.
“Helping people focus on the help they need and deserve is the number one priority”, Anglela shared in a concerned voice as we chatted about what she does. “Guiding clients to the right program, ensures they are on a path to new beginnings. We help them understand themselves and how to better function with stress management techniques and practical tools, that help them have a better quality of life.”
2022 was a special year for Angela and Focus Point participants. With her vision of a fashion show highlighting the “5 Faces of Mental Health”, it came to pass after she connected with Owner and CEO of The Fashion Haus, LLC, Kelly Cunningham. The two of them were able to team up and produce a fabulous show in July 2022 at the Institute of Advanced Learning and Research, one of our most beautiful event venues in Danville. This show was amazingly different, with models and designers stepping out for the first time with their modeling talents and designing skills. The audience laughed, and cried as MC Lady Shamar shared honestly her mental struggles, with her jokes and true stories that had some of us in tears. Guest Rap Artist, Century , was up front, blunt , and with nothing held back, she moved and grooved us with her lyrics and story. Telling the audience her music is therapy. We could feel that!
The designers fabulously displayed their interpretation of The Faces of PTSD, ANXIETY, DEPRESSION and OVER ALL MENTAL HEALTH , through the fashions they created. I asked if there were plans for another Fashion Show, and the reply was, “yes”! Snap, snap, this gives us something special to look forward to this year!
Angela went on to express the many ways people suffer with mental stress, anxiety, depression and manic behaviors , and how she and her staff meet the needs of their clientele. She explained, “ people who are always busy, always doing something, function in a manic stage and will eventually crash if they don’t know how to manage their down time.” Focus Point helps people identify theses signs of manic depression, anxiety and stress, and gives practical tools to manage mental and emotional needs, when a breaking point is reached. They teach people how to manage those down times, through many mediums.
Staff at Focus Point, use the Arts to help people process their emotions. Visually, they use movies , videos, and art exhibits to detour emotional stress from bad to good. The use of music, through instruments, and concerts help with audible disorders of all kinds. There are art projects for hands on therapy that exposes clients to different textures, and mediums, allowing them to work through issues creatively through touch. There are cooking projects, and trips to restaurants and dinners, allowing the use of their sense of smell and taste. All these mediums are proven tools that are helpful to manage and maintain good mental health.
Angela is not just some person who has learned how to treat people with mental and emotional disorders, she is someone who really cares because she experiences some of these disorders herself. She often uses “role play” with clients to help them understand their situations from different perspectives. This allows them to see things from another person’s point of view, and how their own behavior affects things. She has learned from experience, these techniques, projects, and trips, are extremely helpful in managing good mental health.
Angela Williams is an amazing woman who has a calling to help others. She is actively trying to remove the stigma that, “ mental therapy” is bad! If you or someone you know and love, needs help because of emotional stress, anxiety, depression or struggles with addiction , Focus Point will be a safe place for you.
The Voice of “Focus Point”
Model: Ashley Page
Photography and Stylist: Ciara Kelly
Getting to know Kelly Cunningham
Alexus Brown
Kelly Cunningham, the founder of the Haus Magazine, is a Danville, VA native. In addition to founding the Haus Magazine, she is also the founder of Danville Fashion Week, which is produced by the non-profit, the Haus of Fashion, inc., where she is the executive director and the founder of the Fashion Haus Studio.
Grateful for how far she has come, Kelly expresses how the Haus Magazine was something she wanted to produce for a long time. Kelly says, "I have been trying to start for a while now, but of course, timing is everything. I just believe where we are creative, sometimes, we are overlooked. If we had an outlet that we knew could be published quarterly, it would give us time to collect our thoughts, find a way to be creative, and get it out to the world." Kelly says there are about 2-3 other magazines that she is aware of in the Danville area; however, the Haus Magazine is the first inclusive African American digital fashion publication in Danville. The first issue launched had over 500 clicks, and those people read the magazine in its entirety, expanding beyond the United States.
Kelly thanks the River District Association for selecting her as a winner of Dream Launch to help her launch the Fashion Haus in the downtown area. The Fashion Haus has now been open for the past 2 years. They provided everything that a beginner to an advanced photographer would need. Kelly says throughout this journey, she has found her niche. Because she has found her calling, she is looking to expand her space to focus more on a mother agency, so she can provide more amenities for her clientele.
Danville Fashion Week is one of the biggest things she is proud of. She founded the organization in 2016 and pivoted to a 501c3 non-profit organization, allowing her to accept more donations from the community, such as grants. Danville Fashion Week is her way of giving back to her community. For the first time last year, she saw a mother walking alongside her daughter, and she was crying because of how proud she was.
developing people who know how to be more confident within themselves. We are developing people that now realize this is something that they want to do as a career. This shows the people that we're in the network of helping them get there. Seeing some models, designers, hairstylists, and makeup artists where they started with me and then where they're at now is monumental, and I'm just grateful to be a part of that journey."
She expresses how last year did a number on her, but she is ready for Season 8 of Danville Fashion Week. In addition to Danville Fashion Week, she wants to step out of her comfort zone by expanding beyond Danville and into the Carolinas. "I can reach so many other people if I step outside of my comfort zone, if I step out of fearing the "what if…."
I'm looking forward to expanding in North Carolina and different parts of Virginia. You'll see more of me soon!"
Model: Karmen Brown
Photography: Michael Garris
Model: Kelly Cunningham
