A Stranger Left Two Boys at His Door. A Year and a Half Later, He's Still Raising Them.

In February 2025, a woman Sam Restifo barely knew dropped two boys off at his home in Saginaw, Michigan, and didn't come back. The boys — now 14 and 12 — have been living with him ever since, in a house that, until recently, had no running water and relied on a generator after its electricity was shut off.

The boys had almost no family support to fall back on, and they were afraid that entering the foster care system would mean being split up from each other. Without legal guardianship, Restifo couldn't even enroll them in school for the new year — a bureaucratic wall on top of everything else they were already dealing with.

"If I decided I didn't want to, there are no homes for them, and they would split up," Restifo said. He didn't frame it as a burden. "I think they have helped me as much as I have helped them," he said.

After ABC12 told their story, help arrived from well outside Saginaw. A GoFundMe campaign has raised more than $15,000, earmarked for utilities, household costs, and the legal fees Restifo needs to pursue formal guardianship. Running water and electricity are being restored, the boys' school enrollment is moving forward, and renewed interest in Restifo's gutter business is giving the household a more stable income on top of the donations.

Legal guardianship hasn't been finalized. But for now, three people who started as near-strangers to each other have a house with lights, water, and — increasingly — a wider circle of people who know their names.