'Ms. Shirley,' a 'First Responder' for the Homeless, Dies at 58

Advocate Shirley Raines, who founded Beauty 2 the Streetz, used social media to spread the word
Posted Jan 29, 2026 9:15 AM CST
Star Homeless Advocate Shirley Raines Dies at 58
Shirley Raines washes a person's hair on Skid Row in 2018 in Los Angeles.   (Melissa Acedera via AP)

Shirley Raines, who turned makeup kits, hot meals, and a smartphone into a national platform for people living on the streets of Los Angeles, has died at 58. The Clark County Coroner's Office in Nevada confirmed her Tuesday death; the cause hasn't yet been released, per the Washington Post. Raines' twin, Sheila, tells People that her sister's daughter had tried to reach her mother by phone multiple times on Tuesday, finally going to Raines' home in Henderson, Nevada, and even throwing rocks at the windows. When there was no response, Sheila Raines called authorities for a wellness check, and they found Shirley Raines "unresponsive" in a bedroom, with "no visible signs" to explain what had happened.

"We're in shock," says Sheila Raines. Raines, widely known as "Ms. Shirley," had moved in recent years to Las Vegas, expanding the reach of her nonprofit Beauty 2 the Streetz beyond the Skid Row encampments where she first began handing out food, per the Post. Raines founded the group in 2017 with a simple premise: that people experiencing homelessness deserved not only basic necessities but also the chance to feel groomed and respected. Backed by a large Instagram and TikTok following—more than 6 million combined—she documented herself from her car and on sidewalks, passing out home-cooked meals, hygiene supplies, and cosmetics while greeting people as "king" and "queen."

In a 2024 YouTube conversation with Lizzo, Raines described her work as defending the right of the homeless to "feeling good." Her advocacy grew out of personal grief. A mother of six, Raines lost her 2-year-old son in 1990 after he accidentally consumed medication, and her grandmother died not long after. She later said that serving others was a way to carry—and partially set down—that pain. "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," she said on a 2023 podcast.

National recognition followed. CNN named her Hero of the Year in 2021, providing $100,000 that she said she used to expand her work, and she was honored as social media personality of the year at the NAACP Image Awards in 2025. Raines often insisted that while she couldn't fix homelessness on her own, she could meet people where they were. "I'm the first responder, I'm CPR," she said on the 2023 podcast. "I'm waiting for the real help to come." Raines' life made an "immeasurable impact," Beauty 2 the Streetz wrote in a social media post, calling her death "devastating," per the AP.

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