By 8:00 a.m., the line stretched more than half a block outside Project Now in Rock Island. Monday was the first day Project Now and other Quad City agencies began taking applications from anyone needing help paying their heating bills.

Many lining the sidewalk, like Yvonne Allen, meet the income requirements even with a steady job. "The job doesn't pay like it should," Allen says. "We need more money.  Everything's going up, but the paycheck ain't."

Until recently, small business owner Cristina Morales was doing well with her Moline formal wear boutique. "It paid for my house, it paid for my rent for my shop, and I said, 'Thank you, God, for everything.'"

But when Morales' customers started losing their jobs, she lost their business - and her income. Now, with medical bills piling up, she's grateful to get help with her electric bill. "When you don't have money and somebody helps you," says Morales, "you say 'Thank you for your help.'"

As people waited in line outside, the phones lit up inside Project Now with more applicants earning income but needing more. "I'm not surprised that you find people standing in line waiting for assistance, working full time, trying to support families," says Project Now Executive Director Mo Hart. "When you look at their files, you see pay stubs. Those aren't manufactured pay stubs. These are people who are working hard, and they still qualify for help."

Hart says countless people don't apply for help simply because they don't think they are eligible.  If you would like to apply for heating assistance, you may call one of the numbers:

Rock Island County - (309) 793-6391

Scott County - (563) 324-3236

Or, you can  click onto the websites below:

Iowa Community Action

Illinois Project Now