THE TOUGH-LUCK ODYSSEY OF A QUEENS, NEW YORK FAMILY FINALLY COMES TO AN END WHEN ABC'S "EXTREME MAKEOVER: HOME EDITION" COMES TO THEIR RESCUE

The Family's Original Contractor Left Them Without a Roof Over Their Heads

"Ali Family" - In this episode, a Jamaica Queens, New York family finally get their dream house -- two years after a contractor left them without a roof over their heads. With a house rendered unfit for habitation, Lucy Ali and her 12-year-old adopted sons, Paul and Kuran, had been living as urban refugees, hop-scotching from hotel to hotel, to relatives' couches and to a homeless shelter. "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" brings the Ali house back to life when the design team and over 150 workers rebuild it, airing SUNDAY, APRIL 17 (8:00-9:00 p.m., ET), on the ABC Television Network. (Rebroadcast. OAD: 10/31/04)

When her boys were infants, orphaned by a crack-addicted mother, Lucy adopted them. As the now-healthy boys approached adolescence, she wanted to add more space to her one-bedroom, one-bath house and was grateful when she was approved for a home improvement loan.

She gave the contractor a large sum of money to begin the renovations, but the contractor never finished the job, leaving a gaping hole in her roof. The unfinished second level was exposed to the elements, robbery and foraging animals. During one of her periodic visits to her ruined, uninhabitable house, she was alarmed to even find squatters. The Ali house sat without a roof as Lucy, a retired finance manager, struggled to keep up with the monthly mortgage payments.

While the design team, contractors and hundreds of workers and volunteers were building the Alis a new and stable living environment in just seven days, the family went on a Disney cruise vacation.

The design team for this episode of "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" consists of Ty Pennington, Paul DiMeo, Paige Hemmis, Michael Moloney, Constance Ramos and Preston Sharp. "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" is produced by Endemol USA, a division of Endemol Holding. The series is executive-produced by Tom Forman.

This program carries a TV-PG parental guideline.