Updated on December 11, 2020 at 12:00 am NBC Universal, Inc. Living on the street was far from the new start Duan Elijah X was after when he decided to move away from Pittsburg at the beginning of the year. After doing some time in prison on drug charges, he had a fresh start in Miami with a restaurant job, offering the possibility of building a new life. But the COVID-19 pandemic interfered, leaving him jobless, then homeless. "There wasn't enough shifts," Duan said. He was a server. So he pitched a tent in Miami, on Northwest 7th Avenue and 17th Street. He had never been homeless before.