VA-DOJ Guardianship Plan Aims to Move Homeless Veterans into Long-Term Care

The Trump administration, in partnership with the Justice Department, announced a plan to empower VA attorneys to pursue legal guardianships for homeless or incapacitated veterans who cannot make medical decisions, potentially moving them into involuntary or long-term care; a pilot called Project Safe Harbor will test the approach in five VA hubs, reflecting a broader push to use guardianship tools to compel treatment for mental illness and addiction, a shift critics warn risks civil liberties while supporters argue it could provide structured care; guardianships are broader and longer-lasting than civil commitments, and their implementation will require coordination across agencies. There are about 33,000 homeless veterans in the U.S., including roughly 14,000 who are unsheltered.