Levka#veterans #vets #homeless #homelessness #TrumpRegime
"The Department of Justice and Department of Veterans Affairs just quietly handed themselves a troubling new weapon, analyst Steve Kennedy wrote Thursday in Slate.
They announced a partnership allowing VA attorneys to become federal prosecutors with the power to petition state courts for guardianship and conservatorship over veterans deemed unable to make medical decisions.
'On its face, the policy sounds like a bureaucratic fix to a real problem,' wrote Kennedy.
Hospitals struggle when patients can't consent to treatment and the government claims this accelerates care for vulnerable veterans. However, guardianships are sledgehammer legal tools. Once imposed, they strip adults of fundamental rights over medical decisions, housing, and life choices.
'And in the context of homelessness, that authority can become a powerful tool for control,' he warned. 'That is what makes the DOJ–VA agreement noteworthy. Especially considering the Trump administration’s hostility to people experiencing homelessness, the policy could also allow the government to place some homeless veterans under legal supervision that determines where they live and what treatment they receive.'
The Trump administration ditched the decades-old 'Housing First' approach that cut veteran homelessness by 56 percent since 2010 by prioritizing stable housing and voluntary services. Now officials are pushing coercive alternatives like government-run encampments and centralized facilities.
This new conservatorship power would create a legal superhighway straight into those controlled environments. A guardian would be able to decide where homeless veterans live and what treatment they receive. Once under guardianship, veterans lose the ability to refuse placements or reject institutional settings."
Chilling warning as Trump admin quietly hands itself new weapon to lock up homeless vets
The Department of Justice and Department of Veterans Affairs just quietly handed themselves a troubling new weapon, analyst Steve Kennedy wrote Thursday in Slate. They announced a partnership allowing VA attorneys to become federal prosecutors with the power to petition state courts for guardianship...