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Shirley Raines, founder of LA nonprofit Beauty 2 the Streetz, has died
Shirley Raines attends TikTok House Party at VidCon 2022 in Anaheim. She died this week at age 58.
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Vivien Killilea
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Getty Images for TikTok
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Topline:
Shirley Raines, who focused her work on building up the dignity of unhoused people in Los Angeles, has died. She was 58.
About Raines: Known as Ms. Shirley to friends and followers on social media, Raines won a CNN Hero of the Year award in 2021 and an NAACP Image Award in 2025 for her work providing food, makeovers and hygiene products to unhoused people through Beauty 2 the Streetz.
Raines’ background: Raines, who is from Compton, turned to personal beauty to help her cope with the loss of her young son decades ago. She became a volunteer and advocate for Skid Row residents, focusing her efforts on building up the dignity of all people, even those society would consider “broken.”
"This surely hasn't been easy. I stand before you a very broken woman," she said when accepting her CNN award in 2021. “There are a lot of people in the street that are without a mother, and I feel like it's a fair exchange. I'm here for them."
Raines' cause of death is not yet known. She is survived by her sister and five of her six children, who often appeared in her social media posts.
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What Beauty 2 the Streetz has said: “This loss is devastating to the entire Beauty 2 The Streetz team, the communities we serve, and the countless individuals whose lives were forever changed by Ms. Shirley’s love, generosity, and selfless service,” the organization said in an Instagram post announcing Raines’ death. “Her legacy will continue to live on through the work she started and the hearts she touched.”
Beauty 2 The Streetz founder Shirley Raines attends the 2022 Long Beach Pride Parade in Long Beach, California. She was grand marshal for the parade that year.
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Chelsea Guglielmino
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Getty Images North America
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About Beauty 2 the Streetz: Even before starting her nonprofit, Raines did outreach work on Skid Row. She started Beauty 2 the Streetz as a social media page in 2017 after Skid Row residents complimented her style as she was doing outreach work. So she gave them makeovers, growing from a social media page to a full-fledged nonprofit.
Local leaders remember Raines: "Whether it was a hot meal from her van, a mobile shower, haircuts or face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, Shirley Raines became a recognized and warm face on Skid Row, selflessly leading with the compassion and dignity every person deserves," L.A. Mayor Karen Bass wrote in a statement. "While I did not know her personally, I deeply admired her work and remain profoundly grateful for the impact she had on those living on Skid Row. Today I want to honor her contributions to the city she loved, and the people she dedicated herself to."
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