Robin’s Home, the Butler shelter for women veterans, received good news this week in the form of $23,750 from the Veterans’ Trust Fund Grant.

The grant awarded $150,000 to nine counties in Pennsylvania and an additional $650,000 to 20 charitable or veteran service organizations. While Butler County, unfortunately, did not receive a grant, Robin’s Home did.

Mary Chitwood, executive director of the shelter, said the grant money will be used to build a fire escape.

We’re so glad to see Robin’s Home obtaining a grant to continue work on the shelter, especially for a project that is integral for safety for those utilizing the facility.

Robin’s Home is an excellent community resource. It was founded by Chitwood two years ago, and has provided housing services for 24 women veterans between the ages of 30 and 78.

It provides transitional housing, and its agents work with homeless and low-income women veterans and their families to find permanent shelter. It also offers assistance with medical, educational, child care, clothing, food and other needs.

For many who benefit from its services, it acts as a lifeline toward a brighter future. The fact that it does so for people who have served to protect our country makes it especially important to the community.

Recent studies have shown that women veterans are a growing population in need. A U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development report from five years ago showed 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 the course of a year.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has noted that women veterans are the fastest growing demographic among the nation’s homeless population.

Chitwood said that while the COVID-19 pandemic decreased the number of visitors to the shelter for a while, it has recently had a rotation of new clients.

“We have been at capacity for I don’t know how many months,” she said. “I wish we had more space to accommodate more women for housing. That is on our list of things moving into next year.”

For now, we are pleased to see Robin’s Home obtaining a grant for its fire escape project. When the time comes for the shelter to expand its services to house women, we hope it receives additional financial assistance.

We are thankful for the services Robin’s Home provides to our community.

— NCD