John Maher (Delancey Street)

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John Maher (1940 – December 3, 1988) was an American who faced alcohol and heroin addiction from a young age. In 1971 he started the Delancey Street Foundation in San Francisco. The nonprofit provides residential rehab and job training for people recovering from addiction and for those with criminal backgrounds. Maher was co-president from 1972 to 1984 and helped the organization gain national attention. He became well known through two books, the 1975 TV movie Delancey Street: The Crisis Within, and a 60 Minutes segment in 1974. He also worked in San Francisco politics, helping his younger brother Bill Maher get elected to the Board of Education and later to the Board of Supervisors. He died in New York City at his mother's home in 1988 after pneumonia. He grew up in the Bronx, dropped out of school in eighth grade, and was a longtime partner of Mimi Silbert.