Serving the underserved
A new agency in Butler County will be helping to provide needed shelter and services to an underserved portion of the community: female veterans.
Robin's Home, which will be completing phase 1 of its renovation plan and holding an open house in July, was created in partnership with Connect Inc., an affiliate of Southwestern Pennsylvania Human Services (SPHS), to help provide housing and services to women veterans and their children.
The home on East Pearl Street will house 14 single female veterans or six female veterans with children when it begins offering services, according to Mary Chitwood, project coordinator.
Chitwood, a Butler resident and U.S. Army veteran, founded the home in honor of a friend who served in the Army and was deployed in support of Operation Desert Storm.
Chitwood's friend passed away from complications from surgery on Jan. 27, 2017.
For the past two years, Chitwood has assisted more than 200 veterans who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless, as the coordinator for support services for Veterans Families at the Center for Community Resources in Butler and the Veterans Leadership Program of Western Pennsylvania.
Also, Chitwood facilitated a support group for female veterans at VA Butler Healthcare called Veteran Hope, which educates female veterans about resources available at the VA and in the community.
She said currently in Butler County, no agency provides supportive housing to homeless female veterans and their children — and Robin's Home is designed to fill that need.
“This is so important to me because while we have housing options for our male veterans, we have nowhere to house women veterans and their children,” Chitwood said.
A 2016 report by the Department of Veterans Affairs states that 14,134 veterans resided in Butler County, with nearly 1,000 of those being female veterans registered with VA Butler Healthcare.However, Chitwood said this does not include female veterans who have not registered with the VA.According to Catholic Charities, 30 women veterans in Butler County were unstably housed in the last 3½ years, which means these women were either homeless or living without stable housing, Chitwood said.Homelessness among veterans has risen according to The National Coalition for Homeless Veterans, and is predicted to increase further because women are the fastest growing population in the military.Providing servicesWendy Beeching, a drug and alcohol counselor who is interning for her master's degree in social work with SPHS, said the intake process helps identify the specific needs of each veteran, and then connects them to needed services.“We start with an individualized plan and help them meet their goals,” she said.Beeching said the house is situated centrally in town, near many of those services — including drug and alcohol counseling organizations.“I think that is what is unique: They are right in the middle of all these great services. It is a really good recovery town,” she said. “They also get to feel really connected as part of the community and have some neighborhood connection.”She said when applicants come in to be interviewed, trained personnel will be there to greet them and design that plan.“The process is trauma-informed, so the staff are trained in trauma so when the client gets interviewed it is a very respectful, trusting relationship that they establish,” she said. “Sometimes people don't really go to services because they don't feel respected or people don't listen to them. That isn't the case here.”Cases of Military Sexual Trauma (MST) continue to grow, with 1 in 4 women reporting experiencing MST, Chitwood said. Establishing a trusting peer support network is important in treating many underlying issues, including MST and suicidal thoughts, she said.Peer support providers are people with a personal experience of recovery from mental health, substance use, or trauma conditions who receive specialized training and supervision to guide and support others who are experiencing similar issues.Currently, VA Butler Healthcare and community providers do not have a female veteran peer support, Chitwood said.Included in the program's mission is access to outside services to help women veterans seek needed medical and mental health treatments, as well as other services including employment help through Career Link, access to VA Butler Healthcare services, legal services, financial literacy services and child care services, among others.Chitwood said weekly classes will be held at the home, which are open to all female veterans who reside in Butler County.“We want to build a support system for female veterans in our community,” she said.On-site staff will also be available during business hours Monday to Friday.Referrals for housing will be made through several outside organizations, Chitwood said, including Catholic Charities, Victim Outreach Intervention Center, VA Butler, Grace Youth and Family Foundation and SPHS.Making the house a homeThe home was purchased by Dennis Baglier, owner of Baglier Buick GMC. Baglier said he was interested in supporting needy veterans in the community, and was referred to Chitwood and her project.“I saw someone very passionate about a need that she recognized, and I wanted to help give it its best shot,” Baglier said.Baglier said the home is important because it offers services to an underserved portion of the community, a “group who are maybe passed by under the regular system.”He said he purchased the home, which will be leased by the program with the intent that they will eventually own it.Baglier said he currently works to help raise funds and connect the program to other outside resources, and is “glad to see it's really under way.”The four-story house is being remodeled and will be completed in phases. Phase one will include the first two floors of the home. The first floor will consist of a living room, dining room, laundry, kitchen, bathroom and one bedroom. The second floor will have four bedrooms and a full bath.Phase two of the remodel, which will occur later this year, will be the third floor, which will have two bedrooms and two bathrooms.The third phase of the remodel will be the basement, which will have office space.Chitwood said much of the work in the remodel has been donated by community members, former service members and business owners.Operation Troop Appreciation is donating beds, bedding, kitchen items and other household wares.“There is great community support,” Chitwood said.Fundraising eventThe program, which will be funded through donations and grant funding, will be holding a fundraising event May 18 at American Legion Post 778 in Lyndora.The Rock Done Right Tour, put on by Shady Lady Productions, will include several musical acts. Proceeds will benefit the program.Lyndsay Burrik, executive director of Connect Inc., said the mission of the program is “amazing.”More information on the project can be found by visiting the website at www.robinshome.org or Facebook page at www.facebook.com/robinshome.
