Today I will probably get a few people upset but the intent is to fuel a conversation about why funding in the domestic violence area has stalled and to move forward on increasing funding to reduce domestic violence.

First, the idea of confidential sites for programs of domestic violence is a falsehood. The minute a person is placed at a site, employees at the site, police, and fire are aware, you are a neighbor of others, the site is not confidential. What an organization should be doing is making the site safe and secure. I ask why not having police as part of your safety plan does not place the house more at risk in emergencies. What alarm system is there in place? Have you ever called police and been placed on hold?

Statistically there is plenty of information about crimes of abuse but so little information is used to show actually where domestic violence money is spent compared to the statistics. By hiding the very programs that can best service confronting the issues of violence, it only makes it harder to prove the domestic violence nonprofit’s worth to the community. Bringing the community, business leaders, and political establishment together to feel and touch the level of need and know what has been done to date, can only provide for more funding to give every citizen equitable access to services. No one should live in fear.

So I challenge the domestic violence providers to be more open and trusting of the institutions they have hidden from that can advance their important mission to reduce the violence. You cannot accomplish the goals alone.