By Steve Flairty
NKyTribune Columnist
The mention of Trapp Elementary School, in rural Clark County, brings up fond memories for me, as well as legions of others who have experienced its magic. It’s simply a building now, no longer a place of learning for children in the community, a victim of public school consolidation as a cost-saving measure.
The small school was a perfect match for me as I began my teaching career there in the fall of 1975. For now, I’ll spare the coming-of-adult-age-teacher stories, mostly positive, and say that I’m excited about the re-purposing of the beloved community landmark.
Phyllis Abbott (Photo from LVC)
And that’s thanks to Phyllis Abbott, who is directing the project to transform the building into a sanctuary for female American military veterans. The organization is called “Lady Veterans Connect” (LVC), and Trapp is the second site of her mission to serve women veterans. The initial site, the Thurman-Abbott home, in Lexington, was established in the summer of 2016 and has faithfully served several women since then.
The new development for LVC is a bold endeavor. The former schoolhouse is a 22,000 sq. ft. facility. It has eight classrooms, and the plan is to convert each into four rooms for individual residents to stay as long as a year. That would make for a total of 32. “The second stage is (that) we want to build some cottages for woman with small children,” said Phyllis. “We decided not to have children in this facility, as we want a separate environment so that mothers and children can have their privacy and bond as a family.”
So what is the rationale, the pressing need, for such an organization?
Basically, LVC serves the purpose of helping women veterans struggling from military sexual trauma (MST) in some form. “Every woman that we’ve had in our program so far has either experienced sexual trauma before she went in the military, or it happened when she was in the military,” said Phyllis. She added that the typical individual with MST, after leaving the military, will go from one abusive relationship to the next, and will even have trouble sustaining relationships with families. “If you’ve experienced MST, you most likely have PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder), also… all that contributes to their sustainability when they get out of the military.”
The work at the Lexington location has provided lots of training for Phyllis’s volunteer staff making up LVC (renamed in 2016 after originally called “Shepherd’s Hands, Inc.). It’s shown the importance of teaching life skills such as handling finances and organizing better for practical daily living in a home environment; it’s also been an eye-opener for the staff in terms of client experiences, such as the woman and daughter who lived on the streets for seven years after separation from a prominent professional spouse.
LVC has done much to link women veterans with the Veteran’s Administration (VA), along with other entities, for resources. At Trapp, the plan is to bring many of those supports to the building. “The VA will have a remote telehealth office where women can receive counseling via SKYPE here, and they’ll have a mobile health clinic two or three times a month, staffed by all female nurses,” noted Phyllis.
“Kentucky Career Center is going to do a twelve-week program helping to prepare the guests to get ready for jobs. Toyota just donated us ten new computers to use for classes on nutrition, resume writing, financial planning, and classes to reestablish relationships with families.”
Abbott (left) receiving donation for Lady Veterans Connect (Photo from LVC)
She further explained that there are other states having houses with similar programs, but when the doors are opened for the Trapp site, she said it will be “the largest facility in the United States other than Final Salute, Inc, which has similar home and program in Virginia.” Phyllis noted that, at the present time, there only five designated beds for women veterans in the state of Kentucky.
A big part of the mission she leads is to bring public awareness of problems related to veterans. “When you’re in the military, women and men who have been abused often don’t report it. They’re fearful of being demoted or harassed. I’m trying to get some of the ladies to tell their stories to change things for them. It can bring healing and prevent it from happening to anyone else.”
At this point, LVC is moving toward its goals with effective, hard-working volunteers. She mentioned two people whom she depends on “for everything. . .(and) they keep me straight,” she said, grinning. They are Donna Born and Teresa Shafer, board members, as well a core of dedicated volunteers including (first names only) Garnetta, Sharron, Betty, Rosemary, and Nancy. She talked about the people around Trapp who help to prepare for fundraisers, and do fundraisers, like Dale Hatton, who grew up at Trapp and now leads “Trapp Cares,” an initiative to pay for a HVAC system for one of the residential rooms. Ronald Tierney has also been a great help.
Phyllis is proud of another related endeavor for which she’s been involved. In response to a request from the VA, she led in forming the Veterans Resources United of Central/Southeastern Kentucky (VRUCK), which she identifies as “an organization to bring together veterans, resources, veteran organizations, and organizations that support veterans to better serve our veterans.”
Abbott (wearing glasses) with Lady Veterans Connect volunteers (Photo from LVC)
She quickly created a “Week of Valor” for veterans in Lexington, with events such as an appreciation dinner for women vets. She has since established one in Morehead and is planning to do the same in Lawrenceburg. Through her direction and dedicated team, the annual Veterans Day Parade resumed in Lexington after an eight-year hiatus. These are only a few of the accomplishments through the influence of VRUCK.
You can believe Phyllis when she tells you she “works fifteen hours a day,” seven days a week. That’s because of her fierce passion to help others; she has created a sure-fire legacy in that regard. In 2003, she helped start The Church Under the Bridge, a Christian ministry for homeless individuals in inner-city Lexington, meeting on Sunday afternoons. It thrives today, attracting as many as 200 people per Sunday, some of them veterans. She has worked tirelessly in humane outreaches over the years at Lexington’s Southland Christian Church, and recently has taken some time away to support her ill sister in Dayton, Ohio.
Phyllis grew up in Owsley County, in eastern Kentucky. She has a significant family connection to military service, and it strongly inspires her passion for veterans today. Her father and his brothers, along with her mother’s brothers, were all in the military. She’s proud of the service given, but there is sadness, too. “My dad was a World War II veteran and he committed suicide after he’d been out for several years,” she said. “It was likely PTSD, though it was not diagnosed.”
It is the hope of Phyllis and those she leads will affect a better ending to stories like her father’s. For that to happen, assistance to the work of LVC is needed, including financial donations. “We can always find someone a place to volunteer,” she said. “Go to our web site (lv-connect.org) or call me (859-806-4297). You can donate on the web site or send a check to LVC at: P.O. Box 34033, Lexington, KY 40588.”
Steve Flairty is a teacher, public speaker and an author of six books: a biography of Kentucky Afield host Tim Farmer and five in the Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes series, including a kids’ version. Steve’s “Kentucky’s Everyday Heroes #4,” was released in 2015. Steve is a senior correspondent for Kentucky Monthly, a weekly KyForward and NKyTribune columnist and a member of the Kentucky Humanities Council Speakers Bureau. Contact him at sflairty2001@yahoo.com or visit his Facebook page, “Kentucky in Common: Word Sketches in Tribute.” (Steve’s photo by Connie McDonald)
