Rest in Power Shirley “Ms. Shirley” Raines

Ms. Shirley didn't just feed the homeless; she made them feel loved, one haircut and hot meal at a time.

I first heard about Ms Shirley on social media, a video where she was feeding the people of skid row in Los Angeles, California. She was easily navigating their social awkwardness and speaking with the utmost love and respect. More so than you’d expect of the average person.

What is Skid Row? A neighborhood in Downtown Los Angeles, the size of 50 city blocks that has one of the largest unhoused populations in the United States.

It looked like she had a system, a structure, and a tenacity when it came to supporting the people of skid row. It was inspiring, it made sense, and it was efficient.

She would take whole meals, food we take for granted or splurge on like fancy coffee drinks. Her and her non-profit team saw the issues on the street, connected with them, wanted more for them, and did something about it.

The loss of Ms Shirley is devastating, mainly because her work and visibility inspired others to do the same, to join her cause. With her gone, someone else now has to fill her shoes, fill the role of hope-giver, of local leader. That’s not an easy position.

So.. where did she start? She grew up in Compton where she went through the loss of a child which strained her. Financial insecurity, grief, and loss expectedly took hold of her and dominated her every day life. During that time she found that improving her self-image helped her get through. Small things like personal hygiene, hair cuts, and makeup helped relieve the pain and struggle she was enduring.

She invested in her relationship to her community and friends which enabled her to start serving her community through a church lead group feeding Skid Row. Starting small and working with established infrastructure that supports the community is a gateway into doing more. And boy did she do more. She found a “purpose for her pain.” She could still love others in the motherly sense she wishes she could still do to her lost child. She could love past the pain. She was also cool, spunky, full of life and style. She brought that with her when she would help others, which made her notorious amongst them. Ms. Shirley would take care of them, she was loud, she was present, and she called everyone King and Queen when handing them their portions.

When accepting the CNN Hero of the Year award she said “This surely hasn’t been easy. I stand before you a very broken woman, I am a mother without a son and there are a lot of people in the streets without a mother – and I feel like it’s a fair exchange.”

She went on to register Beauty 2 the Streetz in 2019, a non profit consisting of volunteers including her own older children. They would visit Skid Row with food, hygiene kits, beauty supplies. She even started offering haircuts and grooming services when she was able to. Doing this in combination with live streaming exposed her efforts to the world, and the world reached back out. She easily caught the interest of others who wanted to share their services with those in Skid Row. They gravitated towards Ms Shirley, just like I did, and because they were in the same area they felt compelled to join the cause. What’s a few hours of labor to support your community? To give yourself purpose, to help others?

2020 struck hard, Covid-19 required a shift in support. An increase in need required an increase in flexibility. She started offering Covid tests, masks, and vaccinations even. She advocated hard and loudly for this community. She amassed 5 million followers across her socials allowing for more visibility.

She used that visibility for good, for change, and for purpose.

Do something with your visibility, with your purpose, with your time. In honor of Ms. Shirley.