Robin’s Home transitioning from thrift store to resource center
In early March, the veterans support organization Robin’s Home began a new chapter in its history when it officially opened the Veterans H.E.A.R.T. Resource Center on North Main Street in Butler.
The resource center marked a new direction for Robin’s Home, as it came on the heels of the mid-February closure of the organization’s thrift store and donation center located a half-mile away.
According to Robin’s Home founder and executive director Mary Chitwood, the decision to close the thrift store was “not taken lightly,” and came mainly as a result of staffing issues.
“We just didn’t have enough staff, and we just wanted to reorganize our organization to better meet our mission, which is to serve veterans in our community,” Chitwood said.
The turnaround time for the new resource center was brief. They moved forward on the idea in January.
“We discussed it as a board a couple of months in advance,” Chitwood said. “A little over a month ago, the board decided to close the store and move forward with the resource center.”
Robin’s Home leased the building on Main Street and celebrated its grand opening March 8.
The thrift store officially closed to the public in mid-February. However, Robin’s Home retained all of the store’s staff and put them to work at the resource center. One of those staffers is Jill Dettro, who moved from manager of the thrift store to certified peer specialist at the resource center. Dettro served in the U.S. Army from 1988 to 1992.
“It’s a position that I'm very passionate about because I have lived experience,” Dettro said. “I provide hope to fellow women veterans, and I try to meet them at the place they are at, to encourage them to better their lives.”
“I worked with Mary before, and I just really loved her mission and what she did,” said service coordinator Evelyn Delisio. “I wanted to work somewhere small where I would actually make an impact on people, and I love working with other women and helping other women feel empowered. It’s just the right place at the right time.”
According to Chitwood, all but one of the staff members are veterans, including Chitwood herself, who served in the U.S. Army.
The resource center will be a one-stop shop for veterans in the Butler area. Its name represents a handful of the services offered: housing, empowerment, assistance, resources and training. Specific services offered include weekly peer support group meetings, a computer lab, a recreation room, a donation room for clothing and nonperishable items, and one-on-one guidance to resources.
“Our staff will work one-on-one with veterans, or any service member that's currently serving, to connect them with resources in the community,” Chitwood said.
Robin’s Home launched in 2019 and still provides transitional housing for female veterans. The organization was named after Robin Arnold, who served during Operation Desert Storm. After returning to civilian life, Arnold suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder, and died in January 2017 due to complications from surgery.
“Women are known as the ‘invisible veterans.’ We're the most underrepresented group of veterans out there,” Chitwood said. “We're also the fastest growing number of veterans in the military, and those numbers are going to be a lot higher as those women transition into the civilian world.”
While Robin’s Home was initially formed to focus on supporting female veterans, Chitwood says that the Veterans H.E.A.R.T. Resource Center will provide resources for all veterans and active service members.
“It's important for us to make sure that we're creating programs and resources that can serve (the female veteran) population as they transition back into the civilian world, and also to expand our services to provide to our male counterparts,” Chitwood said.
