NEW YORK, NY – The Vera Institute of Justice announced today that its Project Guardianship program is transitioning to become a stand-alone organization. Launched as The Guardianship Project in 2005 by Vera and New York State’s Office of Court Administration, Project Guardianship protects elderly and disabled people who have no one else to act as their legal guardians, providing services from a team of case managers, lawyers, and financial professionals.

The project, which began in response to studies and news reports documenting abuses by guardians, seeks to cast a spotlight on a desperately missing element of the social safety net and actively works to further guardianship policy in New York State. It joins 19 other Vera spin-offs, including Common Justice, Safe Horizon, Center for Economic Opportunity, and Esperanza.

“As the 20th in a long line of Vera spin-offs, Project Guardianship joins a group of powerful nonprofit organizations with top-notch infrastructures capable of making real change,” said Nick Turner, President and Director of the Vera Institute of Justice. “We’re proud of Project Guardianship work on behalf of elderly and disabled people and its continuation of this important legacy.”

Project Guardianship will retain its staff and its direct service model but has formed its own governing board and support infrastructure.

“Project Guardianship demonstrates that a comprehensive program centered on human dignity can successfully serve people with limited resources and without traditional networks of support. Our work helps people maintain their independence and quality of life,” said Kimberly George, Director of Project Guardianship. “Project Guardianship will continue to use our expertise and training to provide a gold standard of care and support, while advocating for a better guardianship system to help families and caregivers.”

“We’re grateful for Vera’s support allowing Project Guardianship to join the ranks of a long list of non-profit organizations that continue to address the City’s unmet needs. Our mission and strategic plan continue the legacy we began at Vera advocating for systemic change to improve the lives of many.” said Joan Malin, Project Guardianship Board Chair.

Project Guardianship’s 2020-2024 Strategic Plan can be found on its newly launched website at www.projectguardianship.org.

About the Vera Institute of Justice:

The Vera Institute of Justice is a justice reform change agent. Vera produces ideas, analysis, and research that inspire change in the systems people rely upon for safety and justice. Vera collaborates with the communities most impacted by these systems and works in close partnership with government and civic leaders to implement change. Across projects, Vera is committed to explicitly and effectively reducing the burdens of the justice system on people of color and frames all work with an understanding of our country’s history of racial oppression. Vera is currently pursuing core priorities of ending the misuse of jails, transforming conditions of confinement, providing legal services for immigrants, and ensuring that justice systems more effectively serve America’s increasingly diverse communities. Vera has offices in Brooklyn, NY; Washington, DC; New Orleans, and Los Angeles.

About Project Guardianship:

Project Guardianship’s mission is to provide person-centered care for the complex needs of New York City’s growing population of older adults and individuals living with disabilities and mental illness who need help making decisions, and to transform the systems that support them to ensure safety, promote independence, preserve dignity, and advance racial and social justice. Project Guardianship advocates for models that address critical needs for individuals, save public dollars, and allow key governmental institutions to operate more effectively.