John Maher (1940 – December 3, 1988) was an American former child alcoholic and heroin addict, who founded the

Delancey Street Foundation The Delancey Street Foundation, often simply referred to as Delancey Street, is a nonprofit organization based in San Francisco that provides residential rehabilitation services and vocational training programs for substance abusers and convicted ...

, a

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

, in 1971. The organization, based in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

, provides residential rehabilitation services and vocational training for substance abusers and convicted criminals. As co-president of the organization from 1972 to 1984, Maher rose to national prominence as the subject of two books (''John Maher of Delancey Street'' by Grover Sales and ''Sane Asylum; Inside the Delancey Street Foundation'' by Charles Hampden-Turner), a TV movie (1975's ''Delancey Street: The Crisis Within''), and news media coverage (including a 1974 ''

60 Minutes ''60 Minutes'' is an American television news magazine broadcast on the CBS television network. Debuting in 1968, the program was created by Don Hewitt and Bill Leonard, who chose to set it apart from other news programs by using a unique styl ...

'' segment, "Love Thy Neighbor"). He was also active in San Francisco politics, helping to elect his younger brother, Bill Maher, to the San Francisco Board of Education, and later the

San Francisco Board of Supervisors The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body within the government of the City and County of San Francisco. Government and politics The City and County of San Francisco is a consolidated city-county, being simultaneously a c ...

. In 1988, Maher died at the home of his mother, Marie Maher, in his native

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

after suffering from pneumonia. Mass was said at St. Gregory the Great Church.

Personal life

Maher was originally from the

Bronx, New York The Bronx () is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state, state of New York (state), New York. It is south of Westchester County, New York, Westchester County; north and east of the ...

, and he dropped out of school in the eighth grade. He was a partner of

Mimi Silbert Mimi Halper Silbert serves as the chairman of the board, president, and CEO of the Delancey Street Foundation, a residential educational community that provides ex-felons, sex workers, substance abusers, and others with academic, vocational, and so ...

for many years.

Media

*''John Maher of Delancey Street'' by Grover Sales *''Sane Asylum; Inside the Delancey Street Foundation'' by Charles Hampden-Turner *''

'', "Love Thy Neighbor" segment (1974) *''Delancey Street: The Crisis Within'' (1975) TV movie

References

1940 births 1988 deaths People from New York City American nonprofit executives Date of birth missing Deaths from pneumonia in New York (state) {{US-bio-stub