Sterling Homes has been honored to help Extreme Makeover: Home Edition rebuild homes and hope for two great families – in their home state of South Carolina and on the Katrina-ravaged Gulf Coast - as well as providing "healing headquarters" in the great city of New Orleans through the construction of places of worship. Here are their stories:

THE WILSONS, LONGS, SC:
On January 25, the Wilson family of Longs, SC who have been living in their Grandmother's beat up trailer were told that Ty and the gang will build them a new home of their own in a remarkable seven days on "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition."

Hakeem, Tim, RJ, and Erica Wilson live in the cramped corners of their grandmother's trailer. Renee Wilson, who did not want to split the children up in the foster care system years ago, has been working as a school lunch lady to help support her grandchildren. Although this is the most stable home the Wilson children have ever lived in, it is still an undersized trailer that is being held together with duct tape, has a sagging roof, bad wiring, leaks, and little to no insulation. Blankets and plastic are kept over the windows to help keep the warm air in and Renee's youngest grandchild, Erica, has to share a bed with her at night. Despite the Wilson children's poor living conditions, their teachers have seen a vast improvement in the kids since they moved in with their grandmother. When asked what the children would like in their dream home, they all responded with the same answer, "my own dresser", since all four children must share a closet and dresser. Renee just wants a safe home for her grandchildren to live in that will provide them with a better sense of security and will allow them to thrive.

THE USEAS, WESTWEGO, LA:
The city of Westwego has had a tough couple of years to say the least. They have been hit by a series of hurricanes, tornadoes and flooding. These natural disasters have devastated the homes and lives of those living there. Among one of the hardest hit is the Usea family.

Brad and Laura Usea had upwards of $15,000 worth of damage to their home after Katrina hit. The hurricane totaled Brad's mother's house leaving her as well as his older brother Chris and Brad's twin brother Chad homeless. Brad and Laura opened up their home to all of them.

In February of 2007 Westwego was hit by tornadoes in the wee hours of the morning. At the time, 37-year old Chris Usea was living in a Fema trailer behind his brother Brad's house. The trailer flew across the backyard and Chris was thrown from it. That same night, Brad heard frantic screaming and ran next door to help rescue his neighbors who trapped in their own Fema trailer.

Coming to the rescue is in the Usea's blood. Both Brad and his twin brother are volunteer firefighters for the City of Westwego. Through each natural disaster these twin heroes stopped at nothing to ensure the safety of their family and community.

After the dust settled, the Useas have found themselves a family of 5 adults and 2 small children crowded in a home damaged both from Katrina and the tornadoes. The ceiling in Chris's temporary bedroom is falling down. Grandma Grace is staying in her 4-year old granddaughter Abby's Tinkerbell room. Brad's twin, Chad, sleeps on the couch in the living room.

The twins, Brad and Chad are doing their best to help the city of Westwego rebuild again after the all of the devastating storms that have torn their community apart. In the process, this family is living on top of each other in Brad's family home.

By giving this family a bigger home, Brad and Laura will have the space they need to raise their family and Chris, Brad and Grandma Grace will regain their independence.

NOAH'S ARK MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH, NEW ORLEANS:
Pastor Willie Walker is the pastor of Noah's Ark Missionary Baptist church. Noah's Ark has been serving the needy community of New Orleans for 60 years. Since Willie Walker was instilled as the church's Pastor in 1998, he has become a local hero. Through his ministry, Willie has made an concerted effort to clean up the streets of New Orleans by helping the people most needy – addicts, AIDS patients, homeless and the poor. He became a father figure to the people of New Orleans that chose the wrong path. He made everyone feel equal and welcome. It is his mission in life to help people and this mission was put to the test when Katrina Slammed into New Orleans.

After making sure his own family was safe Pastor Willie risked his life by going back to the devastation to help rescue hundreds. He saved countless lives. Thanks to his efforts there are entire families that are alive today to sing his praises.

More than 2 years after Katrina, Pastor Willie is still working hard to help the victims of this devastating natural disaster and some feel his accomplishments have been nothing short of miraculous. But the one miracle Pastor Willie hadn't been able to achieve was rebuilding his beloved church.

With EMHE's help this extraordinary Pastor and his congregation leveled the hurricane-ravaged church and rebuilt from the ground up; making not only a place to worship, but also a place of refuge for the entire community.

What follows is an excerpt from David Brinkley's best selling book.

Brinkley's 624-page "The Great Deluge" Speaks of 39 year-old Willie Walker, senior pastor of Noah's Ark Missionary Baptist Church. His church, a mile west of the Superdome, was located in a ‘depressingly blighted Central City neighborhood, the domain of dope dealers, garbage heaps, and a high crime rate. Many residents relied on their monthly food stamps just to survive. Reverend Willie, as his parishioners called him, was a true man of God — not the bombastic Bible-thumping kind, but a coolheaded servant of the poor.' He had had a near-death experience as a teenager, and when he came out of it, he decided to ‘become a pastor for the destitute. Hence, in 1998, he took over Noah's Ark, hoping to give hope to AIDS patients, heroin addicts, and down-and-outers. by his caring loving ways, by his direct actions, he aspired to show the lost the way out of earthly hell and into heavenly salvation. No matter who you were, no matter how broken down or unlucky you were, Walker, who called everybody, "dude," would offer you a hug.' By dusk on August 27, 2005, ‘Reverend Willie hustled around Central City…trying to broker rides out of New Orleans for those without cars. He knew before he started that there was no way of saving everyone.'
Ultimately, his sense of neighbor, which reached beyond his congregation, turned him into a first responder. He bought water and food for the stranded. And off he went on a flat-bottom boat with a couple of cops.
They saved dozens of people. He went on more than 100 boat rescues that week, ‘helping people down rickety staircases and collapsed porches and fire escapes. For the next ten days, Walker, usually wearing a flotation vest, never complained about the privations of his mission, He figured, What better way to show your love of God than to help the destitute? Just being in a rescue boat, ready to pull in the forgotten and forsaken, was ennobling.'

When he finally made it to his church, he found that it was totally destroyed by flood waters, save two things, his podium and specially made sign, ‘PEACE for the weary/LOVE and ENCOURAGEMENT for the Hurt/SPIRITUAL GROWTH in CHRIST for the Lost/SHELTER for the needy/During the Time of Storms, We Will Stand Strong.'

Being a good neighbor doesn't mean doing heroics the way Willie Walker did though, thank God, there are people like that.