NEW DIRECTIONS CELEBRATES PAST, PLANS FOR THE FUTURE

Los Angeles, CA — In celebration of 15 years of service to homeless veterans in Los Angeles County, New Directions will host an Appreciation Breakfast on Friday, May 4th, honoring the cities and agencies that helped fund the residential program at its inception in 1992.  Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, a longtime supporter of New Directions, will serve as keynote speaker, discussing efforts to combat the escalating homeless situation on the Westside.

Attendees will enjoy a continental breakfast and hear from a panel of community leaders, including Mayor Richard Bloom of Santa Monica, Rebecca Isaacs of the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA), Flora Gil Krisiloff, Senior Field Deputy for Supervisor Yaroslavsky, and Leslie Wise, who serves as Homeless Policy Coordinator for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.  The breakfast and panel discussion will be followed by a tour of New Directions’ Regional Opportunity Center.

Although New Directions has much to celebrate on its 15th Anniversary, the agency faces increasing challenges in the years ahead.  As more soldiers return from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, there will be even greater numbers of veterans to serve.  Yet, with the appropriate resources – and with the help of friends and constituents in the community – New Directions can and will play a beneficial role in the lives of these veterans.  Along with its current facilities in West L.A., New Directions has plans to open a site in the West Hills area of the San Fernando Valley, which will be used as a permanent housing facility for disabled and elderly veterans.

New Directions’ Appreciation Breakfast will be held May 4th at 8:00 a.m., on the VA campus, 11303 Wilshire Blvd., Building 116, Los Angeles, CA 90073.  For more information, or to register for this event, please call LaShanda Maze at (310) 914-4045, ext. 161, or email: Lmaze@newdirectionsinc.org.

New Directions, Inc. is a non-profit residential treatment center with 225 beds in four facilities. An estimated 15,000-20,000 homeless veterans reside on the streets of Los Angeles.