Robin’s Home has been honored and awarded $40,000 by the Daughters of the American Revolution for its outstanding work in the community.

Last week, the residence providing supportive housing for women veterans at North Elm and Pearl streets in Butler was given the Vivian’s Outreach to Women award.

We are glad to see Robin’s Home being recognized and given assistance with funding. It is a fantastic community resource that is well deserving of both.

The home, founded by Army veteran Mary Chitwood in 2019, houses three women veterans, and a total of 12 have lived there in the past two years.

It provides a variety of services for homeless, unstably housed and low-income women veterans and their children in seven counties, such as assistance with medical, educational, child care, housing, clothing, food and other needs.

And now, it is one of only three shelters in the nation to receive the Daughters of the American Revolution’s award this year.

That’s a great honor, but it should come as no surprise. The site has provided invaluable service to the county since Chitwood had its formerly vacant and dilapidated property repaired and turned into Robin’s Home.

Studies have shown that a place like Robin’s Home is necessary in a community.

A study five years ago by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development found that women comprised 9.1% of the homeless veteran population, and that as much as 15% of women veterans living in poverty experienced homelessness during a year.

A study the following year by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs found that women veterans were the fastest growing demographic among the nation’s homeless population.

The department reported in 2019 that as many as one in three women said “yes” when asked if they’d experienced military sexual trauma.

Needless to say, having a site in the community like Robin’s Home is a great asset to helping those who have served their nation and could use some help in return.

We’re very pleased to see Robin’s Home get the acknowledgement it deserves as well as funding, which Chitwood said will go toward operating expenses and in-house vocational programs to teach skills to help veterans, who are staying at the home, ways to gain employment.

So, kudos to Robin’s Home and the Daughters of the American Revolution for recognizing what Butler County already knows: Robin’s Home is an amazing place.

— NCD