This Is My Brave - The Show with Flourishing Families

THE
CAST
KRYSTAL LIVINGSTON (SHE/HER)
Krystal Livingston was born and raised in Seattle, WA, the youngest
of six and the mother of four. Three of whom brought her to work as
a Certified Peer Counselor in Washington State the summer of 2015.
She has been a Parent Partner in a community mental health agency,
and she currently works as a State Certified Peer Trainer, training the
Wraparound with Intensive Services (WISe) Workforce for Washington
State Health Care Authority. Krystal is also the Operation Coordinator
for Washington State Community Connectors. She was voted by the
City Council to serve a term, sharing the peer voice and perspective
as a member of the Behavioral Health Advisory Board (BHAB) and later
the BHAB representative on the Mental Illness and Drug Dependency
Advisory Board (M.I.D.D.).
Krystal has participated in and led many trainings and presentations
across Washington and other states. As a black woman recognizing
the lack of culturally relevant, effective, and inclusive mental health
policies and care, she has advocated for and led various teams of BIPOC
volunteers for project deliverables for the state, in creating culturally
specific guides and curriculum targeting the WISe Workforce.
Though Krystal comes from a large supportive family, one’s mental
wellness was not a topic open for discussion. With the revelation that
her two eldest sons were living with addiction which eventually led
to their displacement, she realized they needed a different type of
support. Being presented with the opportunity to do her practicum in
a community mental health agency became her introduction to peer
work and how vital it was to one’s recovery. She became increasingly
passionate about peer work on her family’s path to wellness and the
opportunity to model diversity, cultural sensitivity, hope, empowerment,
and resilience to those facing similar challenges through sharing her
own lived experiences.
16