Government officials of Davis County and its cities and towns should get their heads out of the sand and realize that the county has a responsibility to help the victims of domestic violence.
A familiar "this isn't a problem here" attitude just doesn't jibe with the facts, and the county should be embarrassed that a private citizen is fighting what appears to be a losing battle almost single-handedly for something that should be a top priority of government.Faye Purdy has been working for years to provide a shelter for the hundreds of battered women and their children who desperately need a safe place to go to escape abuse in their homes.
All Davis County has managed to do to help is serve as a sponsoring agent to help Purdy apply for state grant funds. Now those funds are in jeopardy because not enough money has been received from other sources, and the County Commission says it will only help once the project is further along.
It's a vicious circle - vicious and frustrating to those trying to make something happen.
Purdy and her Davis Citizens Coalition Against Violence have raised $100,000 on their own, but their pleas to the County Commission and city councils of the county's 15 cities have largely been ignored.
It's amazing that local governments can continue to fund golf courses, buildings for older citizens and recreation centers but refuse to acknowledge the need for a haven for the abused. A shelter is no less worthy and is more desperately needed.
Statistics indicate Davis County has at least its share of domestic violence, which hits one of 10 homes in the county. The Ogden crisis center provided temporary help to hundreds of abused Davis County women and their children last year and the number continues to grow as the population expands.
The sad fact is that there are many more women who have literally no place to go because they have no transportation to Ogden or Salt Lake Valley shelters. They have no recourse but to remain in the home that has become a dangerous, and sometimes deadly, place.
Davis County governments aren't going to make the problem go away by ignoring it. The county must have a shelter and soon. Local officials should quit quibbling about who has responsibility. Dealing with domestic violence is everyone's responsibility.