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By Chuck N. Baker 
(Las Vegas) ‚Äî There are numerous dedicated organizations that provide help to veterans. Each tends to specialize in select areas. The Disabled American Veterans, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Paralyzed Veterans of America are three groups that provide help to those who have left the service. But a local group that seeks to help veterans empower, explore and engage when they leave the military is a bit less known. Life After Active Duty has a mission to honor and assist veterans and families through the transition from active duty to building successful lives. 
 
Founder and Executive Director Eva Secchiari explained the vision of the organization is, ‚ÄúTo be an accessible streamline of collaborative veteran resources providing life enhancement programs, mentoring and coaching.” Overall the group advances veterans as productive and contributing members of society through several programs.  
 
Secchiari is a Navy brat whose brother is both a Navy and an Army veteran. Her son was in the Marine Corps serving in Afghanistan and he was the inspiration for her organization. ‚ÄúWhen he came back, he wasn‚Äôt the same,‚Äù she said. ‚ÄúHe had PTSD and the system failed him.‚Äù She observed that about other veterans as well and she found it unsettling. 
 
Secchiari formed the non-profit group and notes that she actively stresses core values in her support of veterans. Some of those values include, ‚Äúhelping veterans to want to achieve their goals of a successful life, and giving veterans the tools to achieve those goals. We inspire them to believe in a better future for themselves, and ensure they are seen as having worth and value in their communities,‚Äù she said. Hers is an all-volunteer organization sans salaries. ‚ÄúWe change lives and make it better for veterans. You can‚Äôt put a price on that.‚Äù 
 
Secchiari said Life After Active Duty offers methods that strive to redefine and better the lives of those who reenter the civilian workplace. Programs offer stress and conflict resolution, education regarding VA benefits, pro bono legal services, alternative therapeutic modalities for PTSD and TBI; financial management; and budgeting, among other topics. 
 
On March 12 at 1:30 Secchiari said she is partnering with the Veterans Experience Service of the Education Department at the VA clinic in North Las Vegas for the screening of a documentary motion picture entitled ‚ÄúAlmost Sunrise.‚Äù She said it will explain positive pathways of transition. It is open to the public. To RSVP, call (702) 791-9000, ext. 14562.  
 
Located in Las Vegas, Life After Active Duty can be reached at (702) 497-8744, or by email at eva@lifeafteractiveduty.org. It’s a fact the great majority of those who leave the military lead successful, productive lives but some need a little help and support. Life After Active Duty is working to turn those numbers into 100 percent of Nevada’s veterans.