Shirley Diane Raines

Shirley Diane Raines, affectionately known to millions as Ms. Shirley, passed away at the age of 58. Born in Compton, California, to Shirley Mae Harrison and George Juanito Raines, she entered the world alongside her twin sister, Sheila Raines, a bond that remained one of the most sacred relationships of her life. To the public, Shirley was a viral activist, the founder of Beauty 2 The Streetz, a CNN Hero award recipient, and an NAACP award winner. To those who truly knew her, she was a woman shaped by love, loss, discipline, and relentless purpose. Before the world knew her as an advocate, Shirley was a competitor in every sense of the word. She trained and competed as a bodybuilder through Gold's Gym, worked as a personal trainer, and ran marathons with the same determination that later defined her humanitarian work. She understood endurance, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The defining fracture of her life came with the loss of her first child, Demetrius Stephens Jr. That grief never left her, but it transformed her. It reshaped the way she mothered, the way she served, and the way she moved through the world. She often spoke about "turning pain into purpose," and she lived those words daily. The depth of her compassion for people experiencing homelessness was not abstract. It was born from understanding suffering and from surviving the unimaginable. Through Beauty 2 The Streetz, she restored dignity to thousands by offering meals, hygiene, beauty services, and above all, respect. She called the unhoused "Kings and Queens," not as performance, but as belief. Social media amplified her work to millions, but her mission was always intimate, rooted in eye contact, touch, listening, and presence. Shirley is survived by her children, Danielle Williams, Rashawn Williams, Dalvion Stephens, Macajiah Vanderhorst, and Micah Vanderhorst and multiple grandchildren including Alanah Jones, Archie Williams, Rocco Williams and Brilliant Williams. She also leaves behind many in the unhoused communities of Skid Row and Las Vegas who viewed her as a step-in mother, grandparent, and friend. Shirley would not want to be remembered as a saint. She said plainly that she smoked, she drank, she lived fully and imperfectly. Her life was complex, layered with grief, strength, flaws, fire, and devotion. If there is one truth that remains, it is this. Shirley loved deeply. She loved loudly. And she turned her pain into purpose in a way that changed the lives of thousands while never pretending to be anything other than human.

Shirley Diane Raines

December 29, 1967 - January 27, 2026