If you see someone wearing purple this month, they may be helping raise awareness about domestic violence.

Jamie Thomas Bright was doing just that when she attended Monday’s Danville City Commission meeting. Her dress, her earrings, her fingernails were all sporting the purple that’s used to represent awareness of domestic violence.

“You can’t see, but I have purple toes as well,” Bright told city commissioners after receiving a plaque commemorating the city’s proclamation of October as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. “It gives me a chance to discuss openly about domestic violence.”

Bright’s daughter, Danielle Thomas, grew up in Danville. She was killed by her abusive boyfriend, Jason Bohn, in New York in 2012. He is now serving a life sentence in prison.

Bohn is a graduate of Columbia University and the University of Florida Law School, Bright said.

“When I heard that they were dating, I thought, ‘that’s awesome — an attorney on Wall Street,'” she said.

But domestic violence affects every socioeconomic level, Bright said.

“What I’m hoping to do is to bring domestic violence out where you can talk about it. I didn’t know Danielle was being abused; I thought she could tell me everything, but she couldn’t tell me this,” she said. “I hope that as I can talk about domestic violence, that other people who are suffering will think ‘I can tell someone’ and if anyone is suffering from domestic violence: tell someone. As long as you’re breathing, you can get out.”

The proclamation, read by City Commissioner Denise Terry and signed by Mayor Michael Perros, states that domestic violence “must be stopped and deserves considerable public attention.”

“… children who witness domestic violence often grow up believing that physical cruelty in relationships is acceptable behavior, and thus they tend to perpetuate a cycle of violence in society,” the proclamation reads. “… anyone can be a victim of domestic violence, regardless of age, sex, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status or religion … we must continue to hold domestic abusers accountable, punish them to the full extent of the law and prevent them from inflicting more abuse.”

Commissioner J.H. Atkins said he knew Danielle Bright when she was growing up in Danville.

“For those of us who remember her, she was such a sweet young lady,” Atkins said. “I respect you and I cherish the fact you are … working toward eradicating this disease.”

Commissioner Kevin Caudill said Jamie Thomas Bright “always has such grace and courage.”

“I really respect you for that and respect what you’re doing and that you’re trying to solve a problem instead of just being bitter, as I think maybe I would be,” Caudill said.

“My faith is what gets me through each day,” Jamie Thomas Bright responded. “… I feel Danielle is my guardian angel and I feel she is here with us in spirit.”

SO YOU KNOW

For more information about domestic violence awareness, visit the National Resource Center on Domestic Violence online at nrcdv.org. The National Domestic Violence Hotline is (800) 787-3224.