WOONSOCKET — Waitress Diana Lagesse dislocated her shoulder when she tripped and fell at work. But the pain went deeper. She lost her job and a Scituate apartment, too.

Broke, she moved into a rent-subsidized apartment on Constitution Hill, a leafy collection of homes near a tiny park, a homeless shelter and an arts center.

“It’s a nice clean safe place to live,” said Lagesse, who still needs shoulder surgery.

The 41-year-old waitress lives in one of 1,127 apartments provided by the Neighborhood Opportunities Program, the state’s oldest housing production plan. In eight years, NOP has helped build, acquire or renovate apartments for disabled and low-income residents in 26 communities.

But the program is in trouble. In a belt-tightening move, Governor Carcieri has eliminated the program’s $7.5-million budget next year.

The move couldn’t come at a worse time, say housing advocates.

The state’s jobless rate is at a 30-year high. Last year, nearly 6,000 Rhode Islanders were evicted following 2,338 bank foreclosures, according to a new report.

“We’re concerned about the rising number of first-time homeless people coming into our shelters,” said Jim Ryczek, executive director of the Rhode Island Coalition for the Homeless.

“More people are becoming homeless because of foreclosures. We’ve got a steady influx — and no outlet.”

Ryczek and other advocates are urging the governor to reconsider the budget cut. Lawmakers could discuss the program’s fate this week.

Officials launched the program in 2001, in the wake of soaring home prices. The money is used for both housing and rents. To qualify for a subsidy, tenants — who often rely on disability checks or minimum-wage jobs — must earn 30 percent or less of the median income.

A few years ago, the NOP budget was $7.5 million, up from $5 million. But the state is struggling to generate income, said Carcieri spokeswoman Amy Kempe. “It’s a resource issue.”

The news isn’t all bad, she said. In 2006, voters approved a $50-million affordable housing bond, which will provide $12.5 million a year for housing, Kempe said.

But Ryczek and others say the bond money targets workers who earn more than those who qualify for NOP units, which are scattered throughout other projects and neighborhoods.

In addition, the money can’t be used for operating costs or to help tenants with rents. With no financing, some tenants may have to move out.

In Woonsocket, NeighborWorks relies on the Neighborhood Opportunities Program to help tenants pay rent in 20 apartments.

“It ceases to be affordable without the subsidy,” said Margaux Morisseau, community building director of the Blackstone River Valley group.

The average rent for a two-bedroom apartment is $870. Residents making minimum wage can’t afford it.

Meanwhile, the wait to get into a federally subsidized apartment can take eight years.

Nonprofit developers use the state money — along with grants, tax credits and money from other sources — to build affordable housing. Because the financing is so complex, for-profit developers rarely consider it.

“It’s all about safe and affordable housing, and building a community,” said Brenda J. Clement, executive director of the Housing Action Coalition of Rhode Island. Low-wage earners can save and move into more permanent housing, she said. “The state needs to be a partner, the state needs to be in the game.”

pdavis@projo.com