Reacting to the lack of aid for undocumented immigrant families affected by the World Trade Center tragedy, the American Red Cross yesterday began an unconventional outreach program to help them.

Jan Cole, a human relations liaison with the Brooklyn offices of the Red Cross, yesterday visited the Manhattan offices of Asociación Tepeyac de New York, a nonprofit group that has counted 66 mostly undocumented immigrant workers who have "disappeared" as a result of the Sept. 11 attack.

Through ongoing interviews with low- wage workers downtown, Tepeyac also has tallied about 700 mostly undocumented people left jobless because their jobs are behind Ground Zero barricades.

Cole said the Red Cross would create assistance teams that would take referrals from Tepeyac, which has Spanish-speaking volunteers reaching out to employers and co-workers of the undocumented in an effort to verify their places of work. Traditional employment verification, such as Social Security numbers or pay stubs, aren't required, Cole said, noting, "The only thing we're asking for is that an applicant have some form of I.D., a rent bill, or a phone bill, or a utility bill of some kind."

The aid, she said, could include food, clothing, rent payments and funeral expenses, with needs evaluated on a case-by-case basis.

Mayor Rudolph Giuliani on Saturday promised to use "whatever influence I have over benefits" to help undocumented workers receive equitable benefits. But the mayor's office did not return calls yesterday seeking specifics on Giuliani's efforts.

Brother Joel Magallán, executive director of Tepeyac, said his group is applying for up to $30,000 in assistance for each family with relatives missing in and around the site.

Caroline Quartararo, a spokeswoman for the New York State Crime Victims Board, which will administer the aid, said each family will get a $1,500 check after submitting required affidavits at the city's Family Assistance Center at Pier 94 in Manhattan, regardless of their immigration status.

The remaining $28,500 will be dispersed in connection with acquisition of state-certified death certificates.

Luz María Mendoza, a Mexican woman who walked away empty-handed from the help center last week after seeking assistance related to the disappearance of her husband, Juan Ortega, was in meetings with Mexican consular officials yesterday. She is expected to once again apply for help at the family center later in the week.

Tepeyac also is seeking $1,200 in assistance for each of the unemployed through a crime victims board program administered through Safe Horizons, a nonprofit company. Last week, 15 of those unemployed because of the tragedy were turned away by Safe Horizons because they didn't have Social Security numbers.

Quartararo said she would review what could be done for this group, while Safe Horizons officials did not answer calls for comment.

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