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      Show Description
      • SKID ROW, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, 6 NOVEMBER 2022: Charismatic humanitarian Shirley Raines and her organization "Beauty to the Streetz," are seen dispensing food, clothing, haircuts and beauty services to the Los Angeles homeless community on Skid Row. Raines even brings a portable massager to indulge her homeless friends. Raines is a candidate for CNN's Hero's as a result of her tireless efforts. For the past six years, Raines and her organization, Beauty 2 the Streetz, have been a mainstay on Skid Row, providing food, clothing, hair and makeup services -- and most recently health and hygiene items -- to thousands of people. "I would estimate we've got about 8,000 people who are sleeping out on the streets or in some of the shelters," said Shirley Raines. By the last official count in early 2020, more than 4,500 individuals resided in the roughly 50-block area. "There are more women on the street than before," Raines said, noting that a women's shelter had closed down amid the Covid pandemic. "The resources have dried up." Rain or shine, she sets up "shop" weekly at the corner of 5th and Townes to serve those she calls "Kings" and "Queens." Her goal: to make the homeless feel human, whether that means a haircut, a facial, a hearty meal, or a hug. "It's not so much just giving them makeup or doing their hair, it's also the physical touch," Raines said. "People need physical touch. That's what was so hard when the pandemic hit. We had to stop doing hair, we had to stop doing barber services. And that might be the nicest touch they've had all day." Raines, who for years struggled with financial insecurity, grief and loss after the death of her first son, says she knows how it feels to be labeled. "The world looked at me and thought probably the same thing they think about the homeless when they pass them by," she said. "You never know what anyone's going through, you know?" Raines sense of purpose came in 2017 when Raines joined a church group on a feeding mi

        SHIRLEY RAINES: 2021 CNN HERO OF THE YEAR

      The 15th Annual CNN Heroes All-Star Tribute 

      • "This journey has not been easy"

        Watch Shirley's big moment
      • NEW YORK, NEW YORK - DECEMBER 12: Anderson Cooper and Kelly Ripa pose with the 2021 CNN Heroes during The 15th Annual CNN Heroes: All-Star Tribute at American Museum of Natural History on December 12, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images for CNN. A WarnerMedia Company. All Rights Reserved.)

        Inside 2021's 'CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute'

      • Aloe Blacc performs 'Believe'

      • cnnheroes tribute zannah mustapha_00000322.png

        Ego Nwodim introduces Zannah Mustapha

      • Anderson Cooper and Kelly Ripa introduce David Flink

      • Lynda Carter introduces Michele Neff Hernandez