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    Friday, April 19, 2024

    Connecticut nonprofit aimed at veteran reintegration dissolves

    The nonprofit Til Duty is Done, aimed at reducing veteran homelessness and unemployment and promoting reintegration, has dissolved, its founder confirmed, citing personal reasons.

    Justin Nash, a former Army captain who founded the nonprofit in 2014, said by phone recently that he did not want to comment further.

    His brother, Corey Nash, who also was involved with the organization, passed along an official statement that says "Justin Nash has stepped down as chairman of TDID for personal reasons. Since TDID was founded by Justin and the organization is based on his story, the board of directors agrees that dissolving the organization at this time is best for all. We are passionate about helping our veterans and we are still individually committed to serving them."

    Any remaining money is "being dispersed among other worthwhile veteran service organizations or Veterans in need," Corey Nash said by email last week.

    The Secretary of the State's website shows the nonprofit, which was incorporated in July 2014, filed for dissolution on Dec. 20. Its social media pages and website have been taken down.

    Justin Nash graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 2001 — his class's creed was Til Duty is Done, which inspired the name of the nonprofit — and later went on to serve in Afghanistan. He told the New Haven Register in May 2015 that his job was to search for "high or medium-value targets," and that his team "built an army of 300 indigenous men."

    After leaving the Army, Nash struggled to acclimate back into civilian life. It was that experience that led him to create Til Duty is Done as a way to help other veterans reintegrate.

    He came up with the idea for the nonprofit while attending the University of Connecticut's Entrepreneurship Bootcamp for Veterans with Disabilities. While going through the program, he found that, thanks to the camaraderie of the other veterans involved, he was able to be productive for the first time since leaving the military.

    "I felt that that supportive element of other vets living together, working together, feeding off of each other, helping each other, policing each other, I thought that that type of a group would be instrumental in helping get our veterans back on track," Nash said in a video outlining Til Duty is Done's mission.

    The nonprofit's mission was to create a transition program for veterans, who would all live together while undergoing employment training. Nash was reportedly looking for a site in Norwich to house the veterans. But Norwich officials, when asked, said they were not familiar with the proposal. The nonprofit also helped to connect vets with various resources and services.

    In conjunction with Mohegan Sun, Til Duty is Done helped to put on the popular Vets Rock event. The event, now going into its third year, includes a concert, a career and resource fair, and workshops, all at no cost to veterans. This past year, the event also featured the Wall that Heals, a half-scale replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C.

    "Because of his energy, his push and his desire, we got something off ground here that has sustainable momentum," Mohegan Tribal Chairman Kevin Brown said of Nash.

    Brown said Mohegan Sun is moving forward with the United Service Organizations and American Airlines to put on the event this year.

    j.bergman@theday.com

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