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A policy can sound compassionate and still be dangerous when you read the fine print. We’re talking about Project Safe Harbor, a reported VA and DOJ partnership that would ramp up guardianship proceedings for certain veterans, including people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. On paper it’s framed as “timely and appropriate care.” In practice, it risks turning a housing and services shortage into a civil liberties problem.
I’m joined by attorney Rebecca Iantuonni, who has decades of experience around conservatorship, guardianship, disability planning, and the messy reality of mental health systems. Together, we break down the New York Times reporting and pull apart the biggest claim hiding in plain sight: homelessness does not equal incapacity. We dig into what guardianship actually is, how it differs from civil commitment, and why the idea that a guardian can simply force treatment, control visitors, and dictate where someone lives is both legally fraught and ethically loaded.
We also ask the uncomfortable questions the policy invites. What counts as “no family,” and who decides? How do you determine someone can’t make health care decisions without real due process, real evidence, and respect for privacy? Why is the federal government trying to solve what is traditionally a state-law system, and what happens when a “narrow” program becomes a broad template for controlling other vulnerable groups?
We end where the problem really lives: resources. If veterans are stuck in hospitals, it’s usually because there’s nowhere safe, affordable, and supportive to discharge them to. Guardianship can’t create beds, staffing, or supportive housing. If you care about homeless veterans, disability rights, and constitutional due process, this conversation will give you language, context, and a clear takeaway: support beats control.
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ABOUT MICHAEL MACKNIAK
Michael Mackniak is an attorney, author, speaker and creator of the Guardian Model. For more than 30 years, his work has focused on mental illness, caregiving, care coordination and what happens when real families collide with systems that don't always work the way they're supposed to.
READ MORE FROM MICHAEL
Essays, stories, observations and occasional evidence that I'm still a work in progress:
LinkedIn
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-mackniak/
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https://substack.com/@michaelmackniak
Medium
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BOOKS BY MICHAEL MACKNIAK
Saving Melissa: 7Cs to Cure the Mental Health System
https://www.amazon.com/dp/0997421401
Character: Become the Person Your Social Media “Friends” Already Think You Are
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1790810612?lv=shuf&utm_source=chatgpt.com&channelId=480&plpRedirect=mhFallback
Download the episode companion to this and other episodes here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1hPXaKMrs3yrLEP2g7l1HIRH3hz65tK1g
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