Shirley Raines, a beloved advocate for the homeless who used social media to amplify her message of respect and dignity for people on Los Angeles’s Skid Row and beyond, died Tuesday. She was 58.
Her death was confirmed by the Clark County Coroner’s Office in Nevada, which said information on the cause of death was pending. Ms. Raines had lived in Las Vegas in recent years, broadening her advocacy efforts far beyond the Skid Row section of downtown L.A. where she started.
Affectionately known as Ms. Shirley, she gained a national following as the founder and CEO of the nonprofit organization Beauty 2 the Streetz, which announced her death on social media Wednesday. The organization did not share additional details.
Launched in 2017, Beauty 2 the Streetz says its mission is “helping people feel beautiful regardless of their circumstances,” which Ms. Raines pursued by delivering “self-worth restoring services” — providing food, hygienic services, makeup kits and hair styling. It was part of what Ms. Raines described as a broader mission to change the narrative surrounding people who are homeless.
“I found myself on a mission to defend the homeless’s right to feel good,” she said in a 2024 YouTube conversation with the singer and rapper Lizzo.
Ms. Raines said she began delivering meals on Skid Row while trying to work through personal trauma. A mother of six, she had lost her 2-year-old son in 1990, after he accidentally ingested medication. Soon after, she lost her grandmother as well. She said it took her years to deal with the losses, and she sought to help others in part to heal herself.
“I can take all of my pain every day, and I can go apply it elsewhere,” she said in a 2023 appearance on the podcast “Small Doses With Amanda Seales.” “I can’t get rid of it, but at least, if you can drop it off somewhere for a couple of hours, it makes the load less heavy.”
“I’m just grateful for this work,” she added, “because it really has been a form of therapy.”
Ms. Raines said financial support for Beauty 2 the Streetz came almost entirely from her social media platforms, where she gained a following of more than 6 million people across Instagram and TikTok. Her videos, which she often recorded from the inside of her car, showed her distributing home-cooked meals or essential items, along with makeup and other beauty products provided by cosmetics companies. Hundreds of thousands of viewers would watch as Ms. Raines warmly greeted each person with a term of endearment, calling them “king” or “queen.” In some videos, she would be instantly recognized — “Ms. Shirley!” — by the residents she served.
In 2021, CNN named her its Hero of the Year, awarding her $100,000, which she said she used to help her expand her advocacy in Los Angeles and other cities. Last year, she was honored at the NAACP Image Awards as social media personality of the year.
“My story is so tragic, and I never thought I’d have an opportunity, never,” she said, choking up in her acceptance speech. “I didn’t even think I was worthy to be in this room. I didn’t know how to dress. I didn’t know how to do anything.”
“The narrative that is attached to the homeless is such a terrible narrative, and I use this spotlight to change the narrative.”
Ms. Raines often said that public officials need to step up to do more to help the homeless, and dismissed criticism that helping a woman with her hair and makeup was ineffective.
“People are like, ‘Well, you’re not getting them off the street.’ Well damn it, that’s not why I’m here, now, is it?” she said on Seales’s podcast. “I’m just trying to listen. I’m the first responder, I’m CPR. I’m waiting for the real help to come.”
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