She went in, lured by the simple promise of a free bag of diapers.

In the end, the 24-year-old Manhattan woman - eight months pregnant and terrified of her violently abusive father - left the East Harlem center with a financial assistance plan of more than $32,000 a year.

Single Stop's Megan Sergi (l. in glasses) assists Bronx mom Joanell Sotero while Sotero's two daughters play at the program's headquarters on 121st St. in East Harlem.

Single Stop, true to its name, is a nonprofit program that connects needy New Yorkers with one-stop access to help from health insurance to legal advice.

"I was unemployed and not receiving benefits. Single Stop helped organize a lawyer. He has resolved

everything for me," Cindy told the Daily News through an interpreter.

Cindy, who emigrated from the Dominican Republic in 2004, now gets cash, rental support and food stamps.

"I'm very grateful and happy because I've received lots of help," said Cindy, who would not give her full name out of a fear her father will learn she's pregnant.

She is one of thousands of low-income New Yorkers tapping into financial assistance thanks to Single Stop, which operates at 59 sites in the five boroughs.

The Center for Urban Community Services (CUCS) runs two Single Stop offices in Harlem and offers the free diapers as an incentive to get needy families through the door.

It seems to be working.

Its East Harlem headquarters, on E. 121 St., has seen a spike in the number of people using the program since the economy soured, says Megan Sergi, the assistant program director.

From March 2008 to July 2008, 146 people enrolled at the center. This has leapt by 130% to 336 people for the same period this year. During that time, the center has secured annualized benefit savings of $1.4 million, up from $119,000 during the same five months of 2008.

"That's nearly a 1,100% increase - it's huge," Sergi said.

Joanell Sotero, 33, of Marble Hill in the Bronx, has worked full-time as a room attendant at a midtown hotel for 15 years. She still has a job, but says she struggles to make enough to support herself and her daughters, ages 2 and 6.

"With rent going up it's not enough. That's why I'm looking for assistance," she said. "It gets rough sometimes so I want help with the kids. Health insurance, benefits, anything that can help."

Single Stop was created by the celebrity-backed Robin Hood Foundation, which counts actress Gwyneth Paltrow and newsman Tom Brokaw among its directors. Robin Hood hands out hundreds of millions of dollars each year to nonprofit groups fighting poverty across the city.

Paul Howard, director of development at CUCS, said the Single Stop structure works so effectively because families can get everything they need in one office.

"It makes it easier than having to go to government offices," Howard said.

City agencies are working in partnership with the program, said Barbara Brancaccio, a spokeswoman for the Human Resources Administration.

The program caters to all kinds of people experiencing financial difficulties.

Trina Svendsen, 57, of the upper West Side, lost her legal secretarial job in December 2006 and fell behind on rent. She soon owed her landlord over $11,000, despite finding a roommate to pay $550 towards her $1,115 monthly rent.

In June the East Harlem center persuaded several charities to donate $4,500 towards her rental arrears if city agencies matched the figure. The Human Resources Administration agreed and Svendsen paid her landlord back last month.

For more information or to find your nearest Single Stop center visit www.singlestopusa.org or call (212) 480-2870.