Myra Rudell, 7, of Butler, plays cornhole on Saturday evening in downtown Butler at the first annual Robin’s Home Food Truck and Rock Fest. Shane Potter/Butler Eagle

In the year 2000, women made up 4% of the veteran population, but by 2040, women will make up 18%, according to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

More than 2 million women veterans live in the U.S. today, and it’s the fastest growing group within the veteran population, signaling a need for increased awareness and care in this area.

Citing its own fiscal year 2019 statistics, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs already reports seeing the impact of this shift, saying that the number of rural women is increasing.

Every VA Medical Center nationwide now has a women veterans program manager, the VA said. At the Butler VA, it’s Rebecca Brown, who oversees women’s services, which include primary care, gynecology, maternity care, postpartum support, ultrasounds, mammograms, mental health care and more, according to the local VA’s website.

On the awareness front, Robin’s Home — a Butler nonprofit organization that provides supportive housing to women veterans and their children — stepped up to the plate.

Though small compared to some downtown festivals, the first-ever Food Truck and Rock Fest was held Saturday in a city parking lot on Main Street. Robin’s Home raised funds for its programming and awareness to women veterans in advance of Women Veterans Day, which is June 12. The latter date recognizes the anniversary of the Women's Armed Services Integration Act.

Mary Chitwood, Robin’s Home founder, said the home, which also only been open for four years, is typically filled to 97% capacity. It has six bedrooms for women veterans and their children.

The organizers of the festival hope it’ll become an annual event, and we do, too. It’s a worthy cause for a need that is growing, not only in Butler County, but across the nation.

Kudos to everyone who played a role in this past weekend’s event.

Let’s continue to keep our women veterans in mind and look for ways to support services that will need to adjust to growing demand in the very near future.

— TL