Even after Monica Wiensley found a new job, she still feared being evicted from her Taylorsville apartment.

Her husband was out of work. Her first paycheck was a month out. Rent was overdue. And above all, Wiensley wanted to keep her six children out of the homeless shelter.

"We've been there and done that," she said, recalling that her children seemed to enjoy playing with other kids in the shelter -- until they all came down with conjunctivitis. "It's not fun."

That's why Wiensley, her husband and their three youngest children were among dozens of people lined up outside the Salt Lake Community Action Program office last week, hoping to receive temporary assistance so they can keep their home until her pay catches up.

New federal stimulus funding could help hundreds of families like the Wiensleys -- those living on the very edge of homelessness -- either hold onto housing or find it. And advocates say it is help that is sorely needed during a tough recession.

In the past eight months, said the program's housing director, Sharon Abegglen, there has been a significant increase in demand for services.

"A lot of what we're seeing is people we haven't seen before," Abegglen said. "It's people who have spent four to 10 years in a single job, people who were homeowners and are now using rental assistance."

Between Aug. 17 and Sept. 15, the action program welcomed 587 families through its doors -- but with limited resources and precise rules for who is eligible for assistance, it was only able to help 84.

The program will be able to serve more families starting Oct. 1, when it will help facilitate the spending of $8.4 million in the state's "Homeless Prevention Fund." That's Utah's share of the $1.5 billion that was designated for prevention homelessness in the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, more commonly known as "the stimulus bill."

The money is temporary, though. Under the terms of the bill, it must be spent in the next two and a half years. And that's why Salt Lake County community services manager Kerry Steadman said it's being targeted at those who only need short-term help.

He and others are hoping that by the time the money runs out, the economy will have rebounded and the need will be reduced.

"This is money for people who are really at risk," he said. "It's for those who, if you give them just enough to get by, they can stay in their housing and become stable again."

In the long run, Steadman said, that saves the system money.

And from his perspective, it also does exactly what the stimulus money was intended for -- keeping money flowing to landlords; giving renters a more stable situation from which to find and hold onto work; and keeping social service organizations like the action program in business at a time when charitable giving had fallen dramatically.

Roughly $4.5 million of the money will flow into Salt Lake County. Housing officials estimate that it costs about $3,000 to stabilize a family, including rental and other assistance plus the cost of providing oversight and administration for the program. At that rate, about 1,500 families could be helped through the federal program.

The money will be released on Oct. 1, and the organizations that have a hand in spending it say they've already identified many people in need.

But some can't wait that long.

Tasha Pastore and her 10-month-old son, Tiamanie, have been living with relatives since December. The boy's father has found a good job with the Salt Lake City School District -- but like Wiensley, he won't get his first paycheck for weeks to come.

Meanwhile, their relatives' landlord has learned that more people are staying in the rental than was agreed to in the lease. The couple and their son were given a week to get out.

"I've never been in this position before, asking for help like this," Pastore said last week as she waited for an answer to her request for assistance at the action program office. "I'm just hoping for a little help so that we can get into an apartment on our own. Then I know we can handle things on our own."

mlaplante@sltrib.com