Two Maine Towns Raise Funds To Ensure Orphaned Teens Get To Stay In Their Family Home

Two Maine towns, Carmel and Hermon, have joined hands to raise funds for two recently-orphaned teen sisters to help them continue living in their family home.

Devyn Robinson and Jordyn Robinson lost their father in September. Their mother died of cancer months later in January, reported Bangor Daily News.

However, 17-year-old Devyn Robinson and 19-year-old Jordyn Robinson were determined to stay in their only home -- a trailer on a property in Carmel. However, the trailer was in a bad shape and needed major repairs, including a new roof. The mobile home had been in their family for three generations, and was manufactured in 1978, the report added.

Though people have been helpful by providing them with food and money, the girls received major aid when a local businessman offered to buy them a new mobile home.

Thanks to Billy Hartt and Robina Hartt of Carmel, the girls now own a new mobile home with two bedrooms and two bathrooms. Now, they need to get it installed.

According to Billy Hartt, his wife Robina Hartt was at the girls' home and saw firsthand that it needed to be replaced. "My wife said, ‘we’ve got to do something.’ Where they are living is not a good situation. We are in a position to help them and we decided that we’d better," Billy Hartt told the news outlet.

A set up by Hermon Town Councilor Steve Thomas soon set up a GoFundMe page for the girls, and it has so far raised $28,435 of the $40,000 goal.

"Lea Ann was diagnosed with cancer January 14th and quickly passed just two days later, leaving two teenage daughters bewildered, heartbroken, and alone as their father passed away in September. Her daughters were immediately thrown into an unknown world rarely considered by children their age. Who will care for them? Will they be able to keep their modest home? How do they pay bills and with what money? Where is their next meal coming from," the page reads.

As for the teens, they are overwhelmed by the generosity of people. "We are super grateful for the gift of a new home. I can’t imagine living anywhere else," Jordyn Robinson told the news outlet. "I knew we lived in a helpful community but it never hit me until this happened how much they’d help us," Devyn Robison added.

Now the community is looking for people with expertise in septic systems, plumbing and wells to help set up the new trailer.