Founder of New Directions and current Board member, John Keaveney was born in Glasgow, Scotland, in 1949. He left when he was 15 to become a merchant seaman and later immigrated to the United States and joined the Army.  John served two tours in Vietnam, where he was wounded and received a number of decorations and distinctions.

After separating from the military, John had trouble readjusting to civilian life.  Just two days after returning to Los Angeles, he was arrested for driving with an invalid driver’s license and assaulting a police officer.  For the next 11 years John alternated between living on the streets and spending time in prison.  Unbeknownst to him at the time, he was suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).  Trying to ease his pain with drugs and alcohol, John developed a severe substance abuse problem.

Life would take a turn for the better in 1983 when John was court-committed to a Veterans Administration drug rehabilitation program called New Directions.  The program, which had a 90% success rate, ultimately turned John’s life around.  After the VA program was closed down due to budget cuts, John began toying with the idea of creating a nonprofit that would help veterans in the same manner as he had been helped.

It wasn’t until John met Toni Reinis, a longtime advocate for the homeless, that the idea of a rehabilitative program for veterans became a reality.  In 1992, New Directions (named after the VA program that had saved John’s life) opened its doors and begin serving clients.  The first facility was a home in West Los Angeles that could house up to eight veterans.  Now, 17 years later, the program has assisted thousands of veterans and serves as a model treatment program.

John’s work has allowed him to become an advocate for homeless veterans.  He was invited to the Soviet Union to work with veterans of the war in Afghanistan, and he assisted Mother Teresa as she opened a drug treatment facility in Calcutta, India.

But John is most proud of his work at New Directions.

“I created, along with others, the most comprehensive treatment program in the nation for veterans suffering from substance abuse, PTSD and co-occurring disorder,” states John.