D.C. has been approved to issue residents facing financial hardship as a result of the pandemic an additional $300 in weekly unemployment benefits.

Mayor Muriel Bowser announced on Tuesday the District will participate in the Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) Program, created in response to the expiration of Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation’s $600 weekly benefit in July.

In order to qualify, D.C. residents must prove they are already collecting at least $100 from a verified unemployment compensation program and show they are unemployed or partially unemployed due to the pandemic. Those who qualify will receive an additional $300 through the program per week. The city expects residents will start receiving payments by the first week of October and any retroactive pay will go as far back as August. More information on how people can certify their pre-existing benefits is forthcoming.

Bowser urged the federal government to restore the full $600 in unemployment benefits originally offered to residents facing economic hardship during the pandemic. “We know workers continue to struggle during this pandemic, and we are committed to providing them with the maximum benefit they deserve so they can care for themselves and their families,” she said in the press release.

D.C. is currently approved for LWA benefits for up to three weeks. The city initially applied for the full time span of benefits — from Aug. 1 to Dec. 27 — but the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) asked that it only apply for three weeks (and renew on a weekly basis). Funding could be pulled at any time if it runs out or if the government passes a new law dictating how the money is spent.

People eligible for these benefits should continue filling out their weekly unemployment claims. Any additional aid through LWA will be added to those preexisting benefits.

Pressure built up earlier this month, after some residents grew frustrated with Bowser’s reluctance to enroll the District in LWA after the federal government’s $600 weekly unemployment benefits expired. At the time, Bowser questioned the legality of President’s Trump approval of $44 billion in federal disaster relief funds through the program and instead called on Congress to pass additional funding. Ultimately, D.C. was among the last jurisdictions to apply for benefits on Aug. 31.

At the time, Bowser said the extra money “is the only option that we have to give some additional relief to people.”