The VA Wants to Strip Homeless Veterans of Their Rights — And Your Coworkers May Be Asked to Help

A new agreement between the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Justice gives VA attorneys unprecedented power to initiate guardianship proceedings for homeless veterans — stripping their autonomy and putting VA employees in an impossible position.

On March 11, the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Justice quietly signed a memorandum of understanding that should concern every VA employee who cares about the veterans they serve.

The agreement gives VA attorneys the authority to be appointed as special assistant U.S. attorneys — a designation that lets them walk into state courts and petition for guardianship or conservatorship over veterans who are homeless or “at risk of homelessness” and deemed unable to make their own healthcare decisions.

The same administration that has gutted union protections, stripped official time, and dismantled collective bargaining agreements now wants expanded legal power over the most vulnerable people in VA care.

What Changed

Under this MOU, if a veteran is homeless — or even just at risk of homelessness — and a VA clinician determines they can’t make their own medical decisions, VA attorneys can now petition a state court to appoint a third-party guardian. That guardian, not the veteran, would make healthcare decisions going forward.

Unlike a civil commitment, which has an expiration date, guardianships are designed to be permanent. They can be revisited periodically, but the burden falls on the veteran to prove they should get their autonomy back.

The VA says this is about helping veterans “avoid unwarranted continued hospitalization” and “promote appropriate transitions of care.” But rights advocates see something far more troubling: the latest step in the administration’s push to force homeless Americans into institutional settings against their will.

What This Means for Hampton VAMC

This policy has direct implications for VA employees at Hampton and across the country:

  • “At risk of homelessness” is dangerously vague. Who decides what that means? A veteran behind on rent? Someone couch-surfing? The MOU doesn’t define it, which means the definition can expand.
  • VA employees may be pulled into the pipeline. Social workers, patient advocates, and clinical staff could be asked to identify veterans for referral to these proceedings. That puts frontline workers in an impossible position — especially without union representation or official time to raise concerns.
  • There’s no mention of expanding housing or services. The only proven solutions to veteran homelessness are housing and supportive services. This MOU creates a legal mechanism to institutionalize people, not house them.
  • The guardianship system is prone to abuse. Across the country, guardianship courts have been plagued by conflicts of interest, insufficient oversight, and cases where guardians act against the interests of the people they’re supposed to protect.

What Others Are Saying

The National Homelessness Law Center called the initiative an attempt to “strip homeless veterans of their rights and autonomy,” accusing the administration of “using homeless veterans as their latest political pawn to dehumanize all homeless people while ignoring the real cause of homelessness: the fact that the rent is too high for a growing number of people.”

Even the Veterans of Foreign Wars, which cautiously supported the concept of structured support, flagged “important considerations regarding veterans’ privacy, potential implementation gaps and the need for sufficient resources.”

What You Can Do

  1. Know your rights. If you are asked to participate in identifying veterans for guardianship referrals, you have the right to understand the process and raise concerns.
  2. Document everything. If you see this policy being implemented at Hampton VAMC, keep records of what you observe.
  3. Contact your union. AFGE Local 2328 is monitoring this situation. If you have questions or concerns about how this affects your work or the veterans you serve, reach out to us.
  4. Stay informed. This is a developing situation. We will continue to update members as we learn more.

Sources

In solidarity,
AFGE Local 2328 — Representing the employees of Hampton VA Medical Center

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