How Shirley Raines broke through the noise of TikTok and Instagram to inspire millions

Like many people, Joy Taylor first discovered Shirley Raines and her nonprofit organization, Beauty 2 The Streetz, on social media. 

Taylor, a TV, radio, and sports personality, was captivated by Raines’ Instagram and TikTok posts that intimately documented her work feeding the hungry and providing free clothes, makeup, hair services, and hygiene products to the beleaguered Skid Row community of downtown Los Angeles. 

"I was looking for a place to volunteer," Taylor says. "There are a lot of different ways that you can give back, but I really wanted to be boots on the ground. I reached out to [Raines] on DM and was like, 'Can I come help?’ She was gracious enough to say, 'Yes.’ So I went down to Skid Row, and the experience of working with her is spiritual in a way."

For nearly a decade, the Compton, California-born Raines dedicated her time and energy to serving LA's unhoused communities. After experiencing homelessness in her younger years, the mother of six was inspired to donate and distribute food and hygiene kits to Skid Row. Raines, along with volunteers, also applied makeup and styled the hair of people who hadn’t been to a salon in years.

Livestreaming her efforts on TikTok and Instagram, Raines amassed 7 million followers, many of whom were drawn not just to her philanthropy but also her beautiful smile and dynamic personality. Gregarious, quick to compliment, and as prone to break into dance as she was to hand out groceries or gift cards, Raines bewitched the screens and streets.

The affection online was so deep that her followers helped fund her mission — one even purchased an abandoned Vegas building for Raines' homelessness outreach. What started as Raines' impromptu effort to give back eventually became Beauty 2 The Streetz, one of the West Coast's most beloved charitable groups. 

Through her work, Raines, affectionately known by many as Ms. Shirley, was named a CNN Hero of the Year in 2021, placed on the 2025 Time100 Creators list, and won 2025 Outstanding Social Media Personality at the NAACP Image Awards Creative Honors.

Credit: Image Credit: Ian Moore/Mashable/Michael Loccisano/Getty Images

When 58-year-old Raines died suddenly in January from hypertensive heart disease, it felt like LA lost its matriarch.

Taylor, who developed a friendship with Raines and eventually became a board member of Beauty 2 The Streetz, spoke at Raines’ celebration of life. 

"It is such a great and impactful loss," Taylor said at the February service. "The impact that she had on the homeless community is immeasurable. And I hope that she can see the impact that she had on so many others by helping to heal through service, which is why she started Beauty 2 The Streetz in the first place; to heal from grief."

Taylor was referring to the accidental death of Raines’ young son in 1990, a tragedy that both decimated and, eventually, galvanized Raines. Instead of sinking fully into the hole of her depression, Raines channeled her energy into giving back and restoring confidence to those who needed it most. 

Credit: Image Credit: Ian Moore/Mashable/Beauty 2 The Streetz

Even when she began working with the homeless community in 2017, Raines recognized that people need more than just the most basic necessities. When someone gets a much-needed haircut or shampoo, "You can see the light come back in people," Taylor says, "There's also something to human touch."

Most Americans take it for granted that they can have a hot shower or blow-dry their hair, Taylor says. When you feel good about yourself, "that flows over into how you treat other people, how you feel, how you look, your motivation to go to work." 

Even with the absence of Raines, Beauty 2 The Streetz’s mission continues, Taylor says. The organization continues to address the humanitarian crisis of poverty and homelessness through regular outreach efforts in Los Angeles and Las Vegas, including a recent Mother’s Day Restoration Brunch that featured volunteer estheticians and nail techs.

Credit: Image Credit: Ian Moore/Mashable/Robin L Marshall/Getty Images

Raines will be awarded another honor soon, serving as the posthumous Icon Grand Marshal for LA Pride in June. Her image and story will be featured and heard during the parade and festival, now in its 56th year. Lawrence Carroll, the board president of LA Pride, worked with Raines during the pandemic and, like many, felt an instant bond with her.

"She just reminded me of family," Carroll says. 

When Carroll heard of Raines’ passing, he drew inspiration from her and turned his pain into action, naming Raines as one of Pride’s three grand marshals for 2026, alongside attorney and civil rights activist Mia Yamamoto and Emmy-winning Somebody Somewhere actor Jeff Hiller.

"[Raines] is somebody who literally woke up every single day to give of themselves to others," Carroll says. "When we’re talking about being of service to a community and the world — I’m starting to get emotional about it, because Shirley embodied all of that. She was just so real, so much of herself. She saw the humanity in folks, just the fact that she was calling people 'kings’ and 'queens.' We need more Ms. Shirleys, right?"

Besides Raines’ family and philanthropy, part of her legacy will be in how she reached people, Taylor says. With so much forgettable and empty content on our feeds, social media can feel like a cesspool of wasted time. Raines, on the other hand, used it for good, recruiting new volunteers and highlighting the needs of people often forgotten by the city around them.

"Social media can be a very terrible place," Taylor says. "And people like Shirley used it perfectly to showcase how dark the world is — and how you can bring light to it."

Carroll sees a parallel in how Raines lived her life and his own intentions to bring people together through Pride. 

"No matter how much technology influences our day-to-day, you can't substitute human connection," Carroll says. "We are social beings by nature. So getting out there like Ms. Shirley and actually being able to talk to somebody, to listen to them in real time, see their facial expressions, and read their body language is such a unique opportunity to connect to somebody. [It’s something] that a device, a phone, and social media could never do."