Cupid Board blocks DA funding request for domestic violence center 

A request for $1.4 million in funding to get a new local domestic violence center off the ground was put on hold by Lisa Cupid and the BOC after saying they were hearing about this request for the first time. 

Not so, said District Attorney Flynn Broady who reportedly tried multiple times to discuss it with Cuid and the board prior to their meetings, but Cupid has had only one thing on her mind, Home Rule and the commission map she is trying to use over the state approved map. 

Touted as a hub for victims and survivors of domestic violence, The Family Advocacy Center, as the location will be known, was unveiled last month after years of planning. Located on Fairground Street, the facility will allow a coalition of community groups and agencies to provide support all under one roof. 

According to the DA’s office, the new domestic center, which was partially funded with a $400,000 grant from the state, will be the first of its kind to open in Georgia. Broady provided Cupid and the board stats on the importance of the center saying, “Just to give you an idea of why this is so important, I requested the numbers from our 911 center as to the domestic violence incidents that we had in our county. In 2022, we had 14,771 instances. In 2021, we had 17,135. If you average that out, that’s about 43 a day.” 

He suggested that actual numbers were likely higher due to a significant number of unreported incidents.

Some commissioners initially balked at the proposal because Broady asked for the money to come from county reserve funds. As usual, Cupid started on a rant about not knowing about the request saying, “I think all of us are definitely in support of seeing this advocacy center up and running. … It’s odd to see this type of request without even sitting down and speaking to staff.

City Manager Jackie McMorris had to step in and correct the record saying, “In fairness to DA Broady, he did reach out at least twice during this part of the process to ask for you all’s questions or a meeting,” 

Broady indicated a willingness to save the matter until later but told Cupid and the board, “… I’d like you guys to commit to meeting with me in the next two weeks so that we get back on track. Like I said, when I gave you those numbers, there was a reason — because this is so important. We had nine domestic violence fatalities last year. We had 10 the year before. If we’re not going to help, we’re going to continue to see a rise. So we want to stop this. It’s too important for our community,” he added.

Many in the community said that the domestic center is a low priority for Cupid who has elected to spend the better part of the new year fighting over a commission map instead of leading the government for Cobb. 

Those who watched the last commission meeting say she could have scrapped the long winded speech she gave and instead focused on this issue, but it would have taken leadership for her to rise above what was going on and focus on this high priority issue.

In support of the center, Broady was asking for an additional $650,000 to fund the center through the end of this fiscal year (Sept. 30), and another $815,000 for fiscal 2024. One fourth of the fund will be used for initial improvements and equipment for the building while half will be used for salary for the center’s staff.