A 2 Hour Episode from New Mexico Next Week on Extreme Makeover Home Edition

A 2 Hour Episode from New Mexico Next Week on Extreme Makeover Home Edition 4/21/08

APRIL 27

"EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION" LENDS A HAND TO A FAMILY WHO GIVE THEIR ALL TO HELP THEIR COMMUNITY AND THE HOMELESS, EVEN SACRIFICING THEIR OWN SECURITY AND PRIVACY

"Martinez Family," Parts 1&2 -- The Martinez family of Albuquerque, NM were surprised to receive the news that Ty and the gang will be transforming their insufficient, run-down duplex used as a refuge for the needy and homeless into a larger and safe home for their family in a remarkable seven days, on two back-to-back episodes of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition," SUNDAY, APRIL 27 (7:00-8:00 & 8:00-9:00 p.m., ET) on ABC.

When Gerald Martinez was offered a job at a local church in Albuquerque, he hastily moved his family of seven from Colorado to New Mexico, where he had already spent a lot of time helping out in the troubled communities of Albuquerque. Instead of moving into a safe neighborhood with his wife, Liesa, and seven kids, Gerald moved his family into a run-down duplex that was just minutes from the church. In a neighborhood of crime, drug deals and prostitution, Gerald began transforming the church into a refuge for the needy which included a café, a daycare facility and a working bathroom with showers, so the homeless might have a place to clean up. The community welcomed the Martinez family and was very grateful for all of their hard work, but not everyone liked Gerald, and he was even attacked with a glass bottle in front of his own house.

Gerald worked together with the community and quickly transformed an area once known as "the war zone" into a new and better place, now dubbed "God's block." As crime rates decreased and the community began getting media attention, Gerald purchased two other duplexes that would be used to create the "Mission Outpost," a place where broken people could recover from their troubles. With an open-door policy, the Outpost served many people, and the Martinez family seemed finally to be connecting with their neighbors. But as they did so, they also began to lose their own family privacy, and pretty soon they ran into financial difficulties as well, since they charged no rent. Though the family have made a great impact in transforming this community, they don't have enough space to live in themselves, and use hot plates for their cooking, as there's no stove. With dwindling privacy and resources, the Martinez family are in dire need of a new and safe home where they can continue their mission to save the town of Trumbull.

While Ty and the designers, local builder Atreus Homes & Communities and the hundreds of volunteers and workers are rebuilding their home, the family will go on vacation to Walt Disney World.

The design team for this episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" will feature team leader Ty Pennington and designers Michael Moloney, Tanya McQueen, Paige Hemmis and Ed Sanders. The series is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. It's executive-produced by Denise Cramsey. David Goldberg is the president of Endemol USA. This program is broadcast with Spanish subtitles via secondary closed captioning. This program carries a TV-PG parental guideline.

This episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" will be available on ABC.com the day after airing on the network for users to watch online.

Source: ABC Press Release