Robin’s Home unveils newly renovated kitchen
Robin’s Home, a Butler nonprofit that provides needy female veterans with transitional housing and other services, formally unveiled a newly renovated kitchen space at its location on Pearl Street on Wednesday afternoon, Sept. 23.
The home, which has enough space for six adults, opened its doors in July 2019, and has been transformed both inside and outside over the years. Hayley Merchant, of the Center for Community Resources — one of Robin’s Home’s partner organizations — said the kitchen was one of the last parts of the home to be renovated.
“The home is very, very old. One of the only places within the home that hasn’t been remodeled was the kitchen,” Merchant said. “Over the last four to six months, the Robin's Home board, as well as CCR, has done an appeal for donations, and the community showed up. We got the cabinets donated and the granite (countertops) donated.”
Merchant estimates that the renovation of the kitchen space cost around $15,000.
“With people donating their time, I think it took about a month to have everything installed,” Merchant said.
One of those who contributed was Drew Mooney, of Mooney’s Custom Woodworking. Mooney says every effort was taken by laborers to utilize the limited space to the maximum.
“We tried to squeeze every inch out of here,” Mooney said. “It's set up for six residents. There are six identical-sized cabinets here. And we fixed the sink situation. This is a 36-inch sink. Before, they had this tiny little thing … you couldn’t wash a cookie sheet in it.”
The renovation also included new appliances, countertops and repainting.
Robin’s Home executive director Kathy Hennessey could not attend, so secretary Donna Croft read a prepared statement from her.
“A kitchen is more than a room,” Hennessey wrote. “It’s where the women who live here cook their meals, sit down together at the end of the day, and start to feel at home again. Robin’s Home exists to give women veterans a safe place to land, and this kitchen is now a warm, welcoming part of that.”
Over the past 12 months, Robin’s Home has undergone a transformation, as a financial crunch forced the organization to close its H.E.A.R.T. Resource Center on Main Street to focus exclusively on transitional housing services. Robin’s Home also previously operated a thrift store which closed in 2024.
Despite the closures, Merchant stated that the organization wasn’t going anywhere anytime soon, as its participation in the VA’s “Grant and Per Diem” has been extended to 2029.
“We’ve recently been awarded another three years for this grant, so we will be here at least until October of 2029, which is fantastic,” Merchant said. “So that means that we're in good standing and full steam ahead.”
