The remote northern Arizona town of Colorado City where a polygamist group used to be dominant is now the focus of a project by Mohave County officials to address the long-isolated community’s health needs.
Today’s News Herald in Lake Havasu City reports the assessment will be largely conducted by the community itself.
Colorado City and the surrounding area lacked any health care services for nearly a decade. Polygamist sect leader Warren Jeffs long dominated the area, but Jeffs is now serving a life sentence in Texas for sexually assaulting girls he considered brides.
Local officials and health advocates say Jeffs’ legacy of abuse led to community trauma and fear of outsiders. They say that trend has been changing since Warren’s incarceration.