Just in time for the recession, Vista poured cash into a rental aid program that has so far helped 97 families stay in their homes.

Terri Beilke, a single mother of one teenage daughter, said the program helped her make ends meet after the soured economy forced her to close her massage-therapy business.

The Emergency Rental Assistance Program is a joint project between the city of Vista and North County Lifeline, a Vista nonprofit service organization.

The program aims to give a helping hand to families or individuals who are struggling with their bills. Residents who qualify can have up to two months' rent paid by the city.

Beilke said she was scraping by after her business closed in May. She said she was doing OK until her car registration bill came and there just wasn't enough cash to cover all her expenses.

Beilke let her apartment managers know she may not make rent in July.

"I was trying to work with them on getting caught up," she said. "I live already in one of the least expensive low-income housing (complexes) in San Diego County and I was about to lose that."

She said looking for help was her only option and her search led her to North County Lifeline. The assistance program paid Beilke's rent for one month.

City officials said that since the rental-assistance program started in March 2007, it has helped 97 households. The city has spent more than $127,000, or an average of $1,300 per household, on the program and spent an additional $42,000 to fund a separate program that helps cover security and utility deposits.

Bill Rawlings, Vista's director of housing and redevelopment, said the money is well spent.

"It's much more expensive to deal with homelessness," he said. "It's better to keep people from becoming homeless in the first place."

The housing and utility programs were available in 2007 but received more funding in 2008 that allowed more people to take advantage of them, Rawlings said. The relief came just in time, he added.

"We didn't see into the future, we didn't know the economy was going to get worse two years ago," Rawlings said. "We put this in place to address problems we saw then. It could have been worse without these programs."

The city enlisted the help of North County Lifeline to administer the services.

"We are already a place where families can come where they're having trouble or on the verge of homelessness," Don Stump, Lifeline's executive director, said. "We don't have any rental assistance money, so the city found funding."

The programs are funded by redevelopment revenue, Community Development Block Grant money and other state and federal grants. Rawlings said 20 percent of money generated from redevelopment must be funneled into affordable housing projects and programs.

Lifeline is in charge of screening applicants to ensure they qualify for rental assistance. Candidates must be Vista residents who have maintained the same address for more than six months and must also meet income guidelines. To qualify, an individual must have an annual income less than $34,680, a household of two must make less than $39,660 and a household of four must make less than $49,560.

Applicants also must agree to participate in a case management program, which includes counseling and financial literacy training, to help get their finances back in the black.

"We're not just going to write a check and have them walk away," Stump said.

Stump said the program is intended for people who will be able to resume their rent payments once they've caught up. If candidates are approved, Lifeline works with landlords and makes payments directly to them.

"Once somebody gets backed up on their rent and evicted it becomes a credit problem, which is double trouble," he said. "Then we have to find housing that will take someone who has defaulted on their rent."

"The best thing to do is to get them caught up on their rent and get involved with our case management," Stump added. "Then we can help them identify where the money went or help them find employment and at least get them back to living within their income."

Beilke has been living in her apartment on Oak Drive for more than a decade. She said that through the assistance program she participated in a financial orientation course, set up a budget for herself and is now solvent.

"I'm able to pull it together and learn to really budget," she said. "I just needed one month to cover what I couldn't pay."

Contact staff writer Cigi Ross at 760-901-4067.

BREAKOUT BOX:

For more information on Vista's Emergency Rental Assistance Program contact:

---- North County Lifeline, 200 Michigan Ave., Vista. Call 760-726-4900 or visit www.nclifeline.org

---- City of Vista Department of Redevelopment and Housing, 600 Eucalyptus Ave., Vista. Call 760-639-6191 or visit http://cityofvista.com/departments/redev/