Project Amistad applies for guardianship of former Gateway Hotel resident, family opposes attempts

EL PASO, Texas (KVIA) -- The family of a former Gateway Hotel resident is "emphatically objecting" to Project Amistad's attempts to obtain guardianship of their 87-year-old mother.

According to El Paso County court records, El Paso based Project Amistad applied for guardianship of Sean Fischer's mother on October 8.

Court records show Fischer's mother was served two citations - one on Oct. 11 and another on Oct 21.

Fischer and his sister Claudia maintain that Project Amistad's claims about their mother's incapacity are "unfounded, incorrect and erroneous."

A status hearing in the case is scheduled for Dec. 10, with a "status check" to follow on Dec. 20.

According to Project Amistad's website, the organization "serves as the court-appointed guardian of over 350 persons in El Paso County and 35 other West Texas counties who have been found to be incapacitated and unable to support or protect their own health and welfare."

Chapter 1002 of the Texas Estate code states that an "incapacitated person" is defined as:

(1)  a minor;

(2)  an adult who, because of a physical or mental condition, is substantially unable to:

(A)  provide food, clothing, or shelter for himself or herself;

(B)  care for the person's own physical health; or

(C)  manage the person's own financial affairs; or

(3)  a person who must have a guardian appointed for the person to receive funds due the person from a governmental source.

Fischer previously spoke to ABC-7 about his mother's experience at the Gateway Hotel.

"It was pretty obvious it's kind of a deplorable state of condition and had been, at least for the three times I had visited there," Fischer told ABC-7 in September.

An official from a non-governmental organization assisted Fischer's mother in finding a temporary place to live when residents were forced move out of the hotel after the county's lawsuit went public.

Fischer says his mother was "bewildered" when she was told she would have to leave the hotel in just a few days.