The Team Heads to New Hampshire Next Week on Extreme Makeover Home Edition

The Team Heads to New Hampshire Next Week on Extreme Makeover Home Edition 1/21/08

JANUARY 27

"EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION" HELPS A LOVING CLOSE-KNIT FAMILY WHOSE HOME WAS DEMOLISHED AFTER A DEVASTATING FLOOD

Country Music Star Rodney Atkins Helps Kick off Build The Voisine family from Manchester, NH has received the surprising news that Ty and the gang of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" will build them a new home in just seven days, in a special two-hour episode, SUNDAY, JANUARY 27 (8:00-10:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network.

In May 2006, after four days of heavy rain, it was clear to Reynald and Casey Voisine and their four children that the water rising outside their home was far more than a puddle. Their house wasn't in a flood zone and there was a four-lane highway between their neighborhood and the river. Yet the water kept rising, making its way into the house, where it soaked the carpet and rose to the level of the electrical outlets. Reynald called the fire department for help, but was told they needed to shut the power off before the firemen would attempt a rescue for fear of electrocution. Reynald made his way to the breaker box and left his family shivering in the dark, waiting for help to arrive. While firemen were able to get down to the house, they couldn't get back out. In the end, Reynald's Dad had to drive his four-wheel drive pick-up truck up to the house so the family and stranded rescue workers could climb in back and be taken to safety.

FEMA declared their house a total loss and advised that they demolish it and apply for a loan. Thinking that FEMA knew best, Reynald had a family member in construction demolish it for free. Then the Voisines used the money in FEMA relief to haul the remains of their home to the dump. The Voisines assumed things would get better once they received the loan. But then the unexpected happened -- they were denied a loan because of poor credit resulting from Reynald's outstanding medical bills for a misdiagnosed bout with appendicitis. On top of not having a place to live, the Voisines are still paying their monthly mortgage on the property plus rent, as they're living in an apartment next door to their now vacant lot. Down but not broken, Reynald and Casey are struggling and to keep their family together. FEMA provided some rental assistance, but it's about to run out.

But now Ty and the gang will step in to help out. And while he and the designers -- Michael Moloney, Tanya McQueen, Paul DiMeo and John Littlefield -- plus local builder R.J. Moreau Communities and hundreds of volunteers and workers are rebuilding the Voisine home, the family will go on a vacation touring the Caribbean by private yacht. In addition, Country Music star Rodney Atkins helps kick off the build and sings his song, "These Are My People."

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. "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" 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