Contact: Steve Witty

New Directions, Inc.

                                                                                                             (310) 914-4045 ext 135  

Email: switty@newdirectionsinc.org

Release Date: October 31, 2006

NEW DIRECTIONS HONORS, SUPPORTS AND TRANSFORMS

Los Angeles, CA — This Veterans Day, as community leaders, politicians and ordinary citizens take a moment to acknowledge the bravery and sacrifices of U.S. military personnel, New Directions will continue its round-the-clock efforts to offer hope, support and renewal to homeless veterans.  Indeed, at New Directions, every day is Veterans Day.   For more than 15 years, our organization has provided holistic assessments, intensive substance abuse treatment, legal and financial support, job training and, ultimately, a new way of life for thousands of veterans in Los Angeles County. 

In tribute to veterans past and present, New Directions will hold its 11th Annual Veterans Day Golf Classic at MountainGate Country Club on Monday, November 6th.  At this year’s event, New Directions will honor members of the 100th Battalion / 442nd Regimental Combat Team, a volunteer force of Japanese Americans who participated in some of the most intense fighting of World War II. The soldiers of the 442nd fought bravely and stoically, even as their relatives were rounded up and sent to internment camps.  Their regiment is one of the most decorated in U.S. military history.

Today, more than 60 years later, U.S. troops are again being asked to give everything for their country.  The conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have ended lives, and left untold survivors wounded and debilitated.  For many soldiers, the trauma of war leaves painful and indelible scars, which can hamper the transition to normalcy and the civilian world.  These veterans return from conflict, only to find that more, insidious battles await them.  At New Directions, we offer a peaceful resolution to the wars that rage within the human psyche.  Please join us in supporting and giving hope to America’s military veterans. 

New Directions is a non-profit residential treatment facility located on the grounds of the West Los Angeles Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center.  An estimated 18,000-20,000 homeless veterans reside on the streets of Los Angeles.

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