Shirley Raines on Helping the Homeless of Skid Row During COVID-19

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Photo: Courtesy of Shirley Raines

Every week, Vogue will spotlight the medical workers, teachers, and Good Samaritans who are giving back to those in need during the coronavirus crisis.

Each day, Shirley Raines wears her acid-bright buzz cut, graphic cut-crease eye makeup, and stacks of thick false lashes like battle armor. For three years, the 52-year-old mother of six and the founder of the nonprofit organization Beauty2TheStreetz has spent nearly every Saturday visiting the Skid Row area of Los Angeles to provide essentials, beauty services, and her revitalizing spirit to its homeless community. But in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, Raines has had to adapt quickly and pivot her offerings to protect her community.

California has an estimated homeless population of 108,000, the largest in the U.S., and there are nearly 5,000 people living in the dangerously crowded half square mile of Skid Row alone. Unsheltered on the streets in close proximity and with limited access to hand washing resources, the homeless are living a lifestyle that is a recipe for a wildfire-like spread of disease that’s especially troubling given that many of these individuals are elderly and immunocompromised. Lacking in resources and government support, the homeless care system was already stretched before the crisis, and now fear is mounting. Six days ago an employee of the Union Rescue Mission, which operates a large shelter and offers support services in Skid Row, tested positive for COVID-19. With Governor Gavin Newsom authorizing $150 million in emergency funding to protect the homeless people of California, L.A. has been scrambling to create spaces for screening, testing, and quarantine. Making sure the Skid Row community has what they need in this time of extreme flux, Raines has been harnessing her 130,000 followers on Instagram to call for donations, as well as to recalibrate her approach: Each week she continues to keep individuals fed and warm—from a safe, social distance—as storms moving into California are continuing to bring heavy rain. “Life still has to go on for them,” says Raines. “And right now they’re facing the triple threat of no food, the rain, and this virus.”

“I’m sticking to bright colors because that’s what I’m known for,” says Raines of her signature makeup look. “I peek through the car window and they see that it’s me—Shirley, the makeup lady! It gives them a sense of normalcy.”

This past Saturday on a cool, gray morning, Raines began her day by doing her full “exaggerated glam” look: precise, saturated washes of power blue and ruby red pigment on the eyes to play up her new slime green hair. She completed the look by strapping on a bedazzled crystal face mask that was custom made and donated to her by costume designer Perry Meek’s label Aussiegear. Having put on her game face, Raines then packed her truck to the brim with supplies, including bottled water, hand sanitizer donated by Bite Toothpaste Bits, and vitamin C–rich fruits, as well as blankets, tents, and face masks donated by social media followers via Amazon’s Wish List. Typically, Raines preparess all the meals in the kitchen of her one-bedroom apartment, but the increasing demand for food and the limited supplies at warehouse clubs like Costco has made that virtually impossible. “People don’t understand that it’s a privilege to be able to self-isolate in your home,” says Raines. “There are people that are hoarding stuff as if there aren’t others living day-to-day.”

After making the roughly 30-minute drive from her home in Long Beach to Los Angeles, Raines stopped by a nearby McDonald’s to pick up 600 hamburgers before arriving at Skid Row. Joined by her own volunteers, as well as many from local motorcycle club Fighters for the World, Raines and her team, all wearing protective face coverings and gloves, prepare and pass out supplies from cars, continuing to adhere carefully to social distancing guidelines, such as the six-foot rule. “It’s very unsettling for me and my team,” Raines says of being on the ground with the threat of COVID-19 looming. “Of course we’re paranoid and washing our hands 24/7. Of course my family is concerned. My kids and my sister beg me, ‘Please, don’t go out there,’ and I’m just like, ‘I gotta. We can’t give up on them right now.’”

Outside the Fred Jordan Missions, at the intersection of 7th Street and Towne Avenue. “Normally this corner is full as the homeless line up, but right now much of it is shut down,” says Raines.

Photo: Courtesy of Shirley Raines

Even with her anxiety levels growing by the day, it’s important to Raines that her signature Rainbow Brite look remains a constant to keep her feeling like herself—and to give her a small sense of control in the face of a dire situation. “When I put on these bold colors and look in the mirror, I don’t see the woman that’s buried so many people she loves. I don’t see the woman that’s worried where her next dollar is coming from. I don’t see the woman that’s put on 30 pounds because of the Prozac,” she says. Before social distancing, Raines saw how her bright hair and makeup style would inspire similar feelings in the women of Skid Row. “When I first went down to feed the homeless, they’d compliment me, saying, ‘We love your makeup, your hair, your piercings!’” she says. “What I knew of helping the homeless then was giving them food, blankets, and money, but when I remembered I had 4,000 Sephora points I hadn’t used, I went and cashed them in for a whole bunch of products to give out and that’s how it started.”

Raines saw the healing power of her makeovers almost immediately. “When we do their hair and makeup, it creates an opening for them to tell their story, like, ‘My mom always used to wear this lip color.’ They open up, they become nostalgic, and they look in the mirror and can’t believe what they look like. ‘They’re like, ‘Oh my God, is that me? I’m like, ‘Yes, that is you, queen!’”

Raines explains that in addition to the health and hygiene services she provides, she is also fostering a sense of trust. She explains that growing up in Compton, California, has helped inform her understanding of the social contracts of the community. “One of the rules is: Don’t close your eyes and always watch your back,” she says. “So I’m asking them to lay back, close their eyes, and trust that my fighters for the world will make sure nobody will run up on them. We gained that with consistency by coming every Saturday. And that can’t end now.”

“I just jammed everything in,” laughs Raines, who loaded up her truck with Amazon Wish List donations that helped provide tents, tarps, and blankets to 200 individuals.

In the parking lot of the McDonald’s on Almeda Street outside Skid Row. “This is where Beauty2TheStreetz and Fighters for the World join together to assemble care packages,” explains Raines.

With the COVID-19 crisis shedding light on Beauty2TheStreetz, Raines hopes that when the city is on the other side of this devastation, she might be able to fulfill her pipe dream of setting up a full-service salon and make up for lost time. “When they ask, I tell them, ‘I’m still collecting makeup, hair color, and wigs. I have everything for you! Don’t worry. When this is over, we’ll make sure you guys are taken care of,’” she says. Even though she’s admittedly fearful of what lies ahead, Raines remains undeterred and continues to be a source of positivity and light on the front line for the Skid Row community.

“The character of our nonprofit is going to be shown during this pandemic,” she says. “It’s essential that we don’t lose that love and trust we’ve worked so hard to get from this community.”