4.18.24 – Vonnie Woodrick – Founder, i understand

Vonnie Woodrick – Founder, i understand

Speaker Topic: Mental Illness and helping those who are enduring the same grief that she and her family have experienced, her story is powerful as she will share how we all can overcome the attitudes and stigmas surrounding the topic.

BIO:

After the loss of her husband, Rob, in 2003, Vonnie Woodrick’s life was forever changed, as she was forced to live a life without her loving partner and the father of their three children. Feeling as if no one understood suicide, the effects mental illness can have, and the judgment attached, Vonnie set out to change attitudes and the conversation. These efforts led to the formation of i understand in 2014. One of Vonnie’s first initiatives was to create a petition to change the definition of suicide – updating the stigmatizing definition about intentionally taking one’s life to one about suicide’s role as a terminal side effect of mental illness. Under Vonnie’s leadership, i understand continues to advocate for open conversations, better resources for loss after suicide and a stigma free society.