2:42
- ABC News
- September 13, 2021
Woman brings makeovers to Skid Row
Shirley Raines funds her work with the homeless with her own money.
2:42
Improving Skid Row
Skid Row has one of the largest stable homeless populations in the United States, with roughly 3,000 homeless people out on the streets, according to the Community Redevelopment Agency of the city of Los Angeles.
It's a heavily condensed area; the Community Redevelopment Agency reports that the neighborhood contains roughly 3% of the county’s homeless population, yet it makes up only 0.0001% of the county’s total land area.
\"It's one of the most dangerous areas in Los Angeles,\" Raines said. \"It's considered toxic, it's considered an area that's filled with dangerous people and people who have been dismissed by life.\"
But she denounces that understanding of the Skid Row community, a fact evident in her TikTok videos, which she hopes can crush the stereotypes and preconceived notions of homeless people that her viewers have.
Kirkpatrick Tyler, director of Skid Row Strategy at the Mayor's Office of Public Engagement, said that the work to improve Skid Row and the conditions of life there is ongoing.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/skid-row-los-angeles-file-gty-jef-210912_1631464880284_hpEmbed_27x16_384.jpg\")
Tyler said initiatives on mental health care, substance abuse rehabilitation, violence and affordable housing are in progress, building on years of attempts to address these issues. He said community members are helping lead the discussions on how to move the city forward.
\"Skid Row is full of vibrant people with big hearts that believe in themselves, that believe in one another, and that are committed and dedicated to transforming that community,\" Tyler said.
\"For our office, that was actually one of the first things that we had to address -- that we were no longer going to speak about Skid Row as an area in downtown that had a homeless problem, that we would speak about Skid Row as a community,\" he added.
He said efforts like Raines' help give people that human connection that makes the neighborhood the community that it is.
Turning strangers into friends
Every time she hands out food or works on someone's hair, Raines tells her clients that she loves them. She never expected them to say it back, but since her son's death, she knew how important and impactful those words can be.
\"I love you\" were some of the last words she told her son before he died. Now, those words are said back to her every time she heads to Skid Row.
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/US/shirley-raines-01-ht-jef-210912_1631464825201_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
\"It's so funny when I watch back videos, there are random strangers coming to my window like, 'OK, love you, see you next week.' I'm like, 'Oh, OK, love you too,'\" Raines said, laughing. \"It just feels good, because I know how hard it is to trust when life hasn't been kind to you, people haven't been kind to you.\"
And though nothing can heal the wound of a lost child, Raines said she finds solace and recovery in her work. She reminds her viewers to have compassion for people experiencing homelessness -- and to give back to those in need as much as possible.
She thanks the many donors on social media who have already helped her fund the initiative.
\"We think that they're a burden to society but they're not a burden to society. Society is a burden to them,\" Raines said. \"The goal in life is not to have as much as you can; the goal in life is to give as much as you can.\"
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