A friend in need …

Q: A friend of mine has been having some health and financial problems recently, and so I’ve been helping him out with a few things.

My wife brings over dinner a couple times a week, and we help with cleaning and small fix-it items. His house has bigger issues though, including a big hole in the bathroom tile where the porcelain soap holder used to be — the insulation and sheathing are visible, so I don’t know where the underlayment went.

For now, I’ve covered the hole with plastic sheeting and duct tape. But the job looks bigger and more expensive than I can handle. What do you think? — Joe T., via e-mailA: First, kudos to you and your wife for being so dedicated to your friend and making his life easier. These seemingly small things — making dinner, fixing a few things here and there — probably take a load off your friend’s mind and are helping him get through this troubled time.

Some home repairs do take more than a few hours to complete, however, and the materials cost can also be great. Fortunately, many states have assistance programs, in the form of low-interest loans and (less frequently) grants, to help low-income homeowners make needed repairs.

Make a list of the bigger home repair projects around your friend’s home and investigate your state and local governments’ homeowner assistance programs. Then discuss the available options with him. If he decides to have the bigger repairs taken care of using an assistance loan or grant, you may want to be at his side while he negotiates with repair contractors and supervises the work being done.

HOME TIP: Home improvement, repair and disaster assistance programs are available in each state, although each program varies. Check your state’s Web site (a complete list is at www.usa.gov/Agencies/State) for details.