Lee Oviatt cuts wood outside of Robin's Home a home being turned into a shelter and services for female veterans on East Pearl St in Butler on Friday April 27, 2018.

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.

“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.

Wendy 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 connecting them to needed services.

She said when applicants come in to be interviewed, trained personnel will be there to greet them and design that plan.

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.

The four-story house is being remodeled and will be completed in phases.Phase one will include the first two floors of the home.Phase two of the remodel, which will occur later this year, will be the third floor.The third phase of the remodel will be the basement, which will have office space.The 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.More information on the project can be found by visiting the website at www.robinshome.org or Facebook page at www.facebook.com/robinshome.<i>A full story appears in the Butler Eagle.</i>

Uhl Construction worker Jim McDeavitt works on the outside of Robin's Home a home being turned into a shelter and services for female veterans on East Pearl St in Butler on Friday April 27, 2018.