i understand is a non-profit 501c3 organization that offers compassionate comfort, hope and understanding to those who have lost a loved one to suicide or are living with a mental/brain health illness. Our passion is to bring the conversation to everyday places to normalize and reduce the stigma surrounding mental/brain health.

i understand funds a Clinical Nurse Specialist, the first in the country to specialize in mental health in a traditional hospital setting, at Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital. Through fundraising efforts, they also provide a Children's Sensory Room which allows a place of comfort and calm during hospital stays.

Vonnie’s greatest passion revolves around the definition of suicide being outdated and stigmatized. The Definition Petition was created to update the definition to a more accurate narrative, changing the conversation and reducing stigma. Learn more about i understand and sign the definition petition at iunderstandloveheals.org.

i understand has two monthly after-loss support groups, one for teens and one for adults, which offer a community of support. There is also a weekly walking group, and Vonnie has been featured in the national publication, Woman’s World, on how walking helped heal her heart.

The lived experience is shared by Vonnie through her voice at speaking engagements across the country, including but not limited to; Meijer, SpartanNash, PATRA, Davenport University, Lake Forest College, Winning at Home, schools, and churches.

The book, i understand Pain, Love, and Healing after Suicide, written by the Founder, Vonnie Woodrick, is currently in fifty-two units of the Michigan Sheriffs’ Department Victim Advocates Unit. This book is a resource to families who have lost a loved one to suicide. Vonnie’s second book, Change Can Be Beautiful, is a small but powerful book written to share her life after loss lessons. The podcast, Behind the Smile, is a passion project that reveals what is behind your smile, and how we can inspire others through our own story to offer hope and understanding.

Learn more about i understand and ways to get involved at iunderstandloveheals.org.