Meet Levi Stansberry | Founder of nonprofit/ S.U.D./ Mental health counselor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Levi Stansberry and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Levi, is your business focused on helping the community? If so, how?
At CRUSH — Community Resources United Sharing Hope — our work is rooted in compassion, dignity, and the belief that no one’s story is finished. We stand with individuals and families facing substance use, homelessness, incarceration, untreated mental health challenges, and the cycles of trauma that often repeat across generations. Our purpose is simple: to show up for people society tends to overlook, and to help them rebuild their lives with hope, stability, and opportunity.

We meet people exactly where they are. That might be at a motel, in a recovery home, inside a jail facility, under a freeway overpass, or sitting across from us in tears saying, “I just want a chance to start over.” Our team understands that feeling deeply — many of us have lived similar paths. That shared experience allows us to connect beyond paperwork and appointments. We provide peer support, case management, housing navigation, employment readiness, recovery groups, re-entry planning, and linkage to behavioral health and medical care. What we really deliver is belief — belief that people are worth fighting for, even when they’ve been told otherwise.

Every time someone gets clean, finds housing, starts working, or rebuilds family connections, we see more than personal success — we see a ripple effect. Children watch parents heal. Neighborhoods become safer. Emergency room use decreases. Workforce participation increases. Hope spreads. It’s not just one victory — it’s generational change.

A key part of our work includes youth and young adult support. Our prevention and mentorship programming focuses on helping boys and young men discover identity, confidence, and purpose before the world defines them by their mistakes. We create safe spaces to talk about mental health, substance use, peer pressure, manhood, and self-worth — conversations too often avoided in our communities. Through leadership development, life skills, creative expression, and consistent mentorship, we help guide young people toward healthy choices, education, and opportunities. Investing early prevents future crises and builds leaders instead of statistics.

We also have a profound commitment to seniors, many of whom face isolation, housing insecurity, fixed-income limitations, mental health needs, chronic medical conditions, and loneliness after loved ones pass or families drift away. Seniors often fall through the cracks in systems that move too fast for them to navigate alone. We help elders access benefits, find safe housing, coordinate medical care, secure transportation, obtain groceries and hygiene essentials, and stay connected socially. We listen to their stories, value their wisdom, and remind them that they still matter. Too many seniors feel forgotten — we make sure they are seen and supported with patience and respect.

When we support seniors, we protect the foundation of our community. When we uplift youth, we invest in its future. When we empower adults in recovery or re-entry, we strengthen the present. CRUSH stands at the intersection of all three, building bridges across generations.

The world can be heavy — addiction, trauma, poverty, and mental illness don’t just break bodies, they break spirits. But we’ve learned that when even one person stands beside you through the struggle, the path forward becomes possible. Sometimes restoration begins with a meal, a ride to treatment, clean clothes for an interview, or simply someone saying, “You’re not alone.” Those small acts can be the spark that turns a life around.

We are proud of the impact we’ve made, but we’re not done. We’re scaling our transitional housing collaborations, expanding community health worker training, strengthening re-entry and workforce pathways, and growing youth and senior outreach. Our dream is to create a model of care that rebuilds families — parents healing, young people thriving, grandparents stable and supported — a community united in hope rather than fractured by hardship.

We don’t just offer services. We restore dignity. We rebuild lives. We break generational cycles. Every success story — a reunited family, a person entering recovery, a senior smiling again, a young man finding purpose — reminds us why we exist.

This is how we create impact here in Los Angeles — one life, one family, one community at a time. That’s the work. That’s CRUSH. And that is how we hope to change the world.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
My work is rooted in people — real people facing real challenges like addiction, homelessness, trauma, stigma, and systems that often fail to see them as whole human beings. I founded CRUSH – Community Resources United Sharing Hope because I lived through those struggles myself. I know what it’s like to fight for stability, to rebuild from pain, and to look for a hand that meets you where you are with dignity rather than judgment. That lived experience is what sets us apart. We don’t just provide services — we walk alongside people through their darkest moments and stay long enough to see the light come back in.

CRUSH provides community health worker support, peer mentorship, hospital discharge linkage, housing navigation, recovery guidance, and resource connection across Los Angeles County. We are led by individuals with lived experience and supported by credentialed professionals — LCSWs, counselors, peer specialists, nurses, and community health workers. We combine heart and professionalism. We bring clinical structure without losing compassion. And most importantly, we offer hope with accountability.

I am most proud of seeing people who were once lost find their footing again — watching parents reunite with their children, seeing someone get keys to housing after years on the street, seeing a person who once felt broken become a leader helping others. Moments like that remind me why I started this work.

Getting here wasn’t easy. I didn’t come from privilege. I built this organization brick by brick — often while tired, underfunded, or navigating systems that weren’t designed for people like me. There were times doors closed, partnerships fell through, or funding was uncertain. What carried me through was faith, persistence, and the belief that my story wasn’t meant to end in struggle — it was meant to guide others out of theirs.

The biggest lesson I’ve learned is this: people don’t need saving — they need support, opportunity, and someone who refuses to give up on them. Healing is possible. Recovery is possible. Stability is possible. Sometimes all it takes is one person saying “I see you, and I’m not going anywhere.”

What I want the world to know about CRUSH is that we are more than a nonprofit — we are a movement. We are building pathways for individuals who have been overlooked, judged, or forgotten. We are proof that lived experience has value. We are changing the narrative around addiction, incarceration, and mental health — shifting from shame to empowerment, from brokenness to rebuilding, from survival to purpose.

My story is still being written, and so is the story of CRUSH. But every day I wake up grateful to do this work. We are just getting started — and there is so much more hope to give.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Being born and raised in Los Angeles County, I’ve spent 55 years exploring this beautiful place I call home. California isn’t just where I live — it’s part of who I am. From the beaches to the food, the culture to the people, there’s endless magic here. If my best friend came to visit, I’d make sure they experienced the best of it — the kind of week that reminds you why people fall in love with Southern California.
We’d kick things off down south in San Diego, wandering through Old Town, ducking into the little shops, and absorbing the history and colors of the area. Then we’d head to Mission Beach, hop on a harbor boat ride, walk the boardwalk with ocean air in our lungs, and cap the night with dinner at Eddie V’s, watching the sun melt into the water.
The next day would be about the ocean in a different way — fishing in Newport Beach. Davey’s Locker offers a half-day or ¾-day trip, and there’s nothing like being out on the water. I’ve loved fishing — fresh and saltwater — my whole life. After we get back, we’d sit on the pier and eat at Baja Rockin’ Lobster, enjoying seafood by the sea.
From there, we’d slide up toward the South Bay. A walk through the Redondo Pier always brings good people-watching and even better energy. Dinner that night? 92 Korean BBQ AYCE in Torrance — no question. It’s one of my favorites and never disappoints. Dessert means Frostbites, where they mix Italian ice with any flavor under the sun — Snickers, Captain Crunch, sour patch, bomb pop — you name it. After that, we’d head to The Block in Orange for games at Dave & Buster’s or bowling and pool at Lucky Strike. Just good vibes, laughter, and a little friendly competition.
Another morning might start with breakfast at The Kettle in Manhattan Beach — their Southern Cali BLT with egg or the banana foster French toast is the move. Or we might grab a breakfast burrito from Tam’s in Long Beach — five eggs, hash browns, cheese, meat of your choice, fresh pico, and only about ten bucks. If it’s the weekend, we’d cruise down to Cherry Beach, eat in the car like locals, and walk the stretch — car clubs, vendors, music — always something happening.
No LA trip is complete without sports, so we’d head to Inglewood for a Rams game at SoFi (whose house? R-house!) or catch the Clippers at their arena. After the game, we’d eat at Killer Shrimp in Marina del Rey or Lobsters & Beer in West LA, where the lobster rolls, clam chowder, bisque, and Old Bay cheese fries are unforgettable.
We’d spend an evening walking LA Live — concerts, movies, sports, nightlife — the energy is alive and undeniable. I saw the Tupac “Wake Me When I’m Free” exhibit there when it ran — a powerful, curated experience that honored his art, activism, and legacy. It reminded me why culture matters.
To wrap up the week, we’d go shopping in the Downtown LA Garment District — The Alley. You can find everything: wholesale clothes, cologne, jewelry, hats, accessories — it’s a treasure hunt every time. From there we might wander through Koreatown or Olvera Street, meet people, feel the heartbeat of the city, and grab taquitos from Cielito Lindo, topped with their famous avocado sauce. A must. No debate.
And that’s just the start — with LA you could write a guidebook and still miss half of what makes this place special. But this week would give someone a real taste — the food, the beaches, the sports, the culture, the people. This is the Los Angeles I know and love. The City of Angels will always have something new to offer — even after five and a half decades, I’m still discovering it myself.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I want to dedicate my shoutout to my grandmother, Beatrice, a woman whose love and strength shaped the foundation of who I am. She was the one who taught me what compassion really looks like — not in big speeches, but in quiet actions. She fed people who didn’t have enough, opened her door when others would have turned away, and reminded me that every person deserves kindness and dignity, no matter what they’re going through. Watching her serve others without expecting anything in return planted the seed that eventually became CRUSH.

My grandmother believed in second chances long before it became my life’s work. When the world felt heavy, she was a place of safety. She showed me that healing doesn’t require perfection — just love, patience, and presence. Everything I do today — the people we reach, the lives we support, the hope we restore — carries a piece of her spirit.

So, this shoutout belongs to her. To Grandma Bea, whose legacy lives on every time someone gets a warm meal, a bed, a ride to treatment, or simply hears the words “you matter.” She didn’t just raise me — she guided my purpose. And I am forever grateful.

Website: https://LACRUSH.ORG

Facebook: Community Resources United Sharing Hope (C.R.U.S.H.)

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