Before accepting her new job with the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Kristen Thigpen didn't personally know anyone who had been a victim of intimate partner abuse. Since she took the job Oct. 1, she's been researching the issue, which has opened her eyes. "I always had a heart for abused women," she says about taking her new job. "I didn't actually know how common the problem really is. I was really shocked. ... It's really breathtaking."

The coalition, founded in 1980, is committed to ending domestic violence in Mississippi and to helping abuse victims. Staffers provide technical assistance to shelters, education about the issue to the community and to professionals, and assist women in getting their lives back on track.

Thigpen, 25, is the coalition's new public awareness coordinator, and will manage the organization's communications. Born in Jackson and raised in St. Louis, Mo., she followed in her parents' and paternal grandparents' footsteps in choosing Jackson State University as her college. There, she received her bachelor's degree in mass communication in 2006. She married Dominic Thigpen in 2007.

On the day Thigpen started her work with the coalition, President Barack Obama proclaimed October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. In part, the proclamation states: "Domestic violence touches the lives of Americans of all ages, leaving a devastating impact on women, men, and children of every background and circumstance. A family's home becomes a place of fear, hopelessness, and desperation when a woman is battered by her partner, a child witnesses the abuse of a loved one, or a senior Is victimized by family members. ... During National Domestic Violence Awareness Month, we recommit ourselves to ending violence within our homes, our communities, and our country."

To find out more about the Mississippi Coalition Against Domestic Violence, visit their Web site (http://www.mcadv.org), or call 601-981-9196. Also, see this week's cover story on domestic violence.

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