American activist and influencer Shirley Raines died in Las Vegas on January 27. She was 58. On Wednesday, her non-profit, Beauty 2 The Streetz, announced her death via a social media post titled, “Rest in Power.”“It is with profound sorrow and heavy hearts that Beauty 2 The Streetz announces the passing of our beloved CEO and founder, Shirley Raines, affectionately known to so many as Ms Shirley.”The post, uploaded on both Raines’ Facebook and Instagram, continued:“Ms Shirley dedicated her life to serving others and made an immeasurable impact on homeless communities throughout Los Angeles and Nevada. Through her tireless advocacy, deep compassion, and unwavering commitment, she used her powerful media platform to amplify the voices of those in need and to bring dignity, resources, and hope to some of the most underserved populations.”It is noteworthy that Shirley Raines lost her 2-year-old son, Demetrius, to accidental poisoning in 1990, while the baby was staying at a relative’s home. The tragedy later turned her into a community worker and activist.The statement from Beauty 2 The Streetz noted that the “loss” of Ms Shirley is “devastating” not only to their team but also to the communities they serve. It added that countless individuals’ lives were “forever changed” by Raines’ “love, generosity, and selfless service.”“Her legacy will continue to live on through the work she started and the hearts she touched. We humbly ask that you keep Ms Shirley’s family, loved ones, and the Beauty 2 The Streetz family in your prayers during this incredibly difficult time. Further information will be shared as it becomes available,” the post concluded.All about Shirley Raines’ personal tragedy turned legacyShirley Raines was born into poverty in Compton, California, in December 1967. She later grew up in the Skid Row locality of Los Angeles, which has the largest homeless population in the USA.More than 35 years ago, she lost her son, Demetrius Stephens Jr., to an accidental overdose. According to a 2023 profile by PEOPLE Magazine on Raines, she had just moved from San Diego to Long Beach with her husband and was “cramped” in a motel room.This is when then-22-year-old Shirley Raines sent her infant to live with her grandmother, Sally Logan. She recalled:“We didn’t have it together at the time, and he was just stuck in the room.”Raines reportedly didn’t have a healthy relationship with her own mom but always shared a special bond with her Nana, whom she called “the influence of my whole life.” Naturally, when Logan offered to look after her son, Shirley readily agreed and thanked her for her help.“My grandmother was the person in my life who made me feel like I had any value. I experienced a lot of verbal abuse in my life, and I never found myself worthy of anything, never thought I could do anything, and had low self-esteem for as far back as I can remember. I never thought I had anything to offer this world, but my grandmother was the one to plant those seeds to make me believe that I did,” she noted. View this post on Instagram Instagram PostUnfortunately, having spent the night at Sally’s home, Demetrius appeared drowsy the next morning when Shirley Raines went to pick him up. The child was also unable to walk. It turned out he had mistakenly gotten hold of Sally Logan’s prescription medication and consumed it.“We rushed to the hospital. I tried to keep him awake on the drive. He kept wanting to go to sleep. I tried to make him walk into the hospital, but he just kept telling me how tired he was,” Shirley Raines recalled.She continued:“Then, something in me just said, pick him up and let him sleep because this isn’t going to work. You’re torturing him by trying to keep him awake. I just said, ‘I love you very much. Mommy is going to always love you,’ and he said he loved me, too. I walked him into the hospital, and I don’t remember a lot after that.”Five days before his third birthday, Demetrius succumbed to an overdose on September 6, 1990.“My grandmother was the only reason I thought I could do anything in this world. She was the only one who ever made me feel like I had something to offer, and because of her… Because of this accident at her house, my son was gone. The one woman who gave me a sense of who I could be was the cause of my pain,” Shirley Raines told PEOPLE.The activist recalled how she wanted to end her life, but being six months pregnant made her hold on a little longer.“But there is a level of depression that comes deeper than killing yourself. You get so depressed you forget to kill yourself, and that’s literally what happened. I fell into such a depression, I forgot that I was supposed to kill myself. I became a walking zombie. I was moving, but I don’t remember a lot of my footsteps,” she reminisced.Shirley Raines shared that local churchgoers helped her reunite with her grandmother a year after the tragedy. While she knew it was an “accident,” she hadn’t talked about the fateful night with Logan.“We never said the words, and I don’t know what exactly happened that night because I never questioned her. I just know it was an accident, and my son isn’t here. I forgave her, and six months after that, she passed away from cancer,” Raines stated.Another tragedy made Shirley spiral further, to the point where she began refusing antidepressants. Later, however, looking at her other children, she underwent therapy.Unfortunately, she lost both her father and former partner (Demetrius’ dad) just as she had begun recovering from poor mental health. Her own dad, a former LAPD officer, died of a seizure days after a successful brain surgery.Meanwhile, her ex-partner succumbed to colon cancer. Shirley Raines recalled burying him next to their son at the local church’s cemetery. The couple shared another child together.Until she was 49, she was in and out of depression, anxiety, grief, and PTSD from back-to-back personal tragedies. Raines also suffered from years of financial crisis.In 2017, she discovered that self-care helped her cope. Around the same time, Shirley Raines also joined her church members on a local feeding mission in Skid Row, where she found a “purpose” for her life and pain.“When I walked out there, I don’t know what happened, but it felt like a piece of my heart had just been put back in place. I thought to myself, ‘My God, they’re broken just like me.’ I felt so at home. I felt so at peace with them. I became addicted to it, and it became my therapy,” Shirley Raines noted.Shirley Raines Attending Instagram Night Out With Latto Event - Source: GettyThis is when she began allocating funds for her 501(c)(3) nonprofit while continuing to work as a medical biller. However, it took another two years before she founded Beauty 2 The Streetz. Today, it offers daily meals, clothing, hygiene and safety products, as well as makeup and hair services to thousands of homeless people in Skid Row and San Diego.“Losing my son was the worst experience that could ever happen, but it is the reason behind my nonprofit and is the sole core of why I do what I do. I don’t look in the mirror and see a woman who buried a child anymore. I look in a mirror and see a woman with bright-colored hair, face piercings, beetle-hoop earrings and loud makeup,” she told PEOPLE two years ago.Shirley Raines added:“I’m helping other women disguise their pain, too. And that has been one of the greatest gifts life has ever given me outside of my children — a purpose for my pain.”In recent years, Raines chose medication and counselling to help with her mental health issues while maintaining a close relationship with her five living children.“I couldn’t say ‘I love you’ to my kids, I just couldn’t say the words out loud... I think I had survivor’s guilt for not killing myself when my son died, like I said I was going to do. I had guilt for not joining him. Today, my kids and I talk 10 times a day, and we’re always saying, ‘I love you, I love you, I love you.’ Now, the words never stop flowing,” Raines shared.Shirley Raines was the recipient of the 2021 CNN Hero of the Year Award and the 2025 NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Social Media Personality. She spoke with Mexican-American billionaire business and philanthropist Daniel Lubetzky in November 2025. She explained why she was a community worker and activist."I buried my son many years ago. When I buried my son, I was essentially homeless... That affected my mental [health], the guilt of not having stability. I went into massive panic attack and disorder. I was working and living life, but I wasn't a happy person. I was very traumatized and I wanted a purpose for my pain."Shirley Raines explained that serving the homeless gave her that “purpose” and “healing,” and the rest is history. She mentioned realizing that she could never bring her son back or change her circumstances. However, she could help the underprivileged, including single mothers who struggled with feeding and providing for their children.Ms Shirley is survived by her five adult children. The cause of her demise remains undisclosed. Celebrities, including Lizzo, mourned her death.