Sonyia Richardson, MSW, PhD

Assistant Professor

Why is this work meaningful for you?

I’m motivated by a deep sense of compassion and desire to make life worth living for all young people. I’m passionate about creating safe, inclusive and supportive environments for them. I want to prevent suicide by creating interventions that work for young people. I’m also motivated by the personal experiences of friends and community members who have lost youth by suicide.

How does your passion translate into your work?

As a therapist, I was called upon by pastors to provide postvention debriefing services to youth following a suicide death of someone in their church. I started collecting obituaries and programs of these young people to make sure their names were remembered. This gives me motivation to keep going with this work. I have the obituaries on my dresser and look at these daily for inspiration. These young people give me hope to fight for other young people. These experiences led me to suicide prevention research. I specifically focus on developing family-focused interventions to prevent youth suicide.

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