Shirley Raines, Skid Row advocate, dies at 58 (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: To millions online, she was Ms. Shirley. To people on Skid Row, she was like family. Shirley Raines, a social media creator and non-profit founder who dedicated her life to caring for people experiencing homelessness, has died at 58. Raines had six children. One died as a toddler, an experience she spoke about in 2021 while accepting a CNN Hero of the Year award.

[00:00:23] Speaker 2: My life will never be the same since my son died, but it's important that you know that broken people are still very much useful.

[00:00:33] Speaker 1: Raines spent her own money to bring food, beauty treatments and hygiene supplies to people in need in Los Angeles' Skid Row and in other homeless communities in California and Nevada. I come over here and when we're done after eating, after my haircut, I feel just that much taller, that much better. Just days before her death, Raines posted a video from inside her car as she handed out lunches greeting people with warmth and respect.

[00:00:58] Speaker 2: How you doing baby? You do? God is good, look at you.

[00:01:04] Speaker 1: Last year she received an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Social Media Personality.

[00:01:10] Speaker 2: I am a mother without a son and 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.