Carol* felt totally alone. As she attempted to get herself and her kids away from her abusive husband, she had no family or friends she could turn to, and she couldn't get the help she needed at church.

"I didn't know where to go to get answers. I would find books to read, whatever I could get, information that would be helpful to me and my kids," she said.

Using a network of volunteers, the Chainbreaker Foundation helps people get away from their abusers, gets them in touch with the resources they need to move forward in life, and offers free classes and counseling.

The foundation has its origins in two people -- Joan Shippen, of Alpine, and Kristen Lamb, the former Mrs. Utah 2003. Shippen had taken over a domestic violence program she had been volunteering for that provided educational classes and directed abused women to valuable resources. Lamb had started a group called the Chainbreaker Foundation while she was Mrs. Utah, and later suggested to Shippen that they merge the two groups. Shippen decided to keep the name.

Shippen said that, like many people, she did not always realize how big a problem domestic abuse is, especially in Utah County with its family-oriented Happy Valley image. But while volunteering as an EMT, she often came face to face with the problem.

"I don't even tell people anymore because they don't want to hear about it. They don't want to believe. ... It's in all of our neighborhoods," Shippen said.

She said she was surprised to see that the abusers were sometimes prominent members of the community, not the villainous stereotype that many people would imagine abusers to be. She was also shocked when she would respond to domestic violence situations, only to see, months later, that the wife had still not left her abuser.

"I understand it now, but I couldn't understand it then," Shippen said. "It was very confusing to me."

So Shippen started volunteering for a domestic violence program, and later took the reins of the group. She started bringing in volunteers to teach classes on subjects such as parenting, anger management and finances.

The classes, held every Tuesday at St. Francis Catholic Church in Orem, have titles such as "Shattered Image - The effects of domestic abuse on self esteem" and "Cycle of Violence." The classes are led by doctors, therapists, judges and authors. At a recent meeting, Jared Osmond, of Utah County's famed Osmond family, spoke about his experiences in combatting child abuse.

Along with classes, the Chainbreaker Foundation offers free counseling. The volunteers must go through a training process before they can work with the abused women, as well as a few men. The foundation recently began holding group therapy sessions.

"Always get them in counseling. They all need counseling, and there are wonderful counselors in this valley," Shippen said. "If their husbands or wives will go ... then we get them into counseling too."

But the greatest assistance that the foundation provides may be the way it directs abuse victims to resources they may not realize are available to them, such as legal assistance and counseling. There are some things the foundation can't do, such as provide legal advice for divorce proceedings, but it can tell people where to go.

"This valley has wonderful resources, from the advocates in the police stations to therapists to addiction centers," Shippen said. "There is no end to the resources, but people don't know about that. So when they get in this kind of crisis, they don't know where to go."

Angela* said she has learned a lot from the foundation that she wouldn't have otherwise known.

"It's given me a lot of information that I don't think I would've gotten before," she said.

But to Angela, the most important thing the foundation provides might be support for people in her situation.

"I think the biggest thing is just knowing that it could be anybody. It's not just you," she said.

Carol appreciates the support she received from the foundation, and after two years has learned enough from it to help support others.

"I can now be there to help other people," she said. "I can share it with other people, and if somebody else comes along, I can give them information about the class and about things that I've learned."

People get to the Chainbreaker Foundation through a variety of ways. Sometimes they hear by word of mouth, while others learn of it from doctors, counselors or bishops. Shippen said she had a mother attend several classes because she was trying to get her daughter to come.

Getting people to acknowledge they have a problem and seek help can often be the hardest part, Shippen said. Many people don't think they are abused if they aren't being physically assaulted, she said, but she has seen verbal and emotional abuse "that just shreds families to pieces."

With help from the Chainbreaker Foundation, Shippen said many women have not only found the courage to leave their abusive husbands and boyfriends, but learned how to identify abuse so they never again become entangled in a similar relationship. Many women who come to the foundation are fearful or distrustful of men because their experiences have led them to believe that all men are abusive. But Shippen said the foundation can teach them to identify the small percentage of men who are like that, and teach them to steer clear.

"Education is the key, without question. And I've seen miracles," Shippen said. "It is so satisfying to see a woman come out of the cycle into normal life."

Abuse is often a learned behavior on the part of the abuser, the victim or both, and keeping those habits from being passed on from generation to generation is an important part of what the Chainbreaker Foundation does. That concept is where the organization got its name in the first place.

That is one of the main reasons why Carol keeps coming back.

"Not only have I gained a lot, but it's also something that I can pass to my kids," she said. "It will help them and it will help their kids."

For more information about the Chainbreaker Foundation, go to www.chainbreakerfoundation.com.

*Note: Some names have been changed to protect the victims' identities

• Jeremy Duda can be reached at 344-2561 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it