- 12 hours ago
This week on Shady, our host, Lexy Lebsack takes to the streets of L.A. to better understand what's at stake for women living on the street. Through beauty and makeup, this women are able to connect with society and feel human again.
ABOUT SERIES
Shady is the side of the beauty world you haven't seen. Hosted by Refinery29 Senior Beauty Editor, Lexy Lebsack, the series swivels between the unexpected and uplifting, dives deep into the dark underbelly of beauty, gives a voice to those trampled by this quickly growing industry, and questions what it’s all worth. From counterfeit makeup to skin trafficking for cosmetic procedures, we go there.
ABOUT REFINERY29
Refinery29 is a modern woman's destination for how to live a stylish, well-rounded life.
RELATED CONTENT
The Truth About Where Hair Extensions Come From
https://youtube.com/watch?v=VlZ1SWLBfPE
Why Fake Kylie Jenner Lip Kits Could Be Dangerous
https://youtube.com/watch?v=G-VsdEy9IF8
What Beauty Is Like Behind Prison Bars
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Dp1DFvQTcJk
SUBSCRIBE TO REFINERY29
Subscribe to the Refinery29 channel: http://bit.ly/subscribe-to-r29
TALENT
Follow Shirley Raines on Instagram: https://instagram.com/beauty2thestreetz/
Follow Lexy Lebsack on Instagram: https://instagram.com/lexylebsack/
Follow Unbothered on Instagram: https://instagram.com/r29unbothered/
Follow OnHerTurf on Instagram: https://instagram.com/onherturf/
Follow Refinery29 on Instagram: https://instagram.com/refinery29/
ABOUT SERIES
Shady is the side of the beauty world you haven't seen. Hosted by Refinery29 Senior Beauty Editor, Lexy Lebsack, the series swivels between the unexpected and uplifting, dives deep into the dark underbelly of beauty, gives a voice to those trampled by this quickly growing industry, and questions what it’s all worth. From counterfeit makeup to skin trafficking for cosmetic procedures, we go there.
ABOUT REFINERY29
Refinery29 is a modern woman's destination for how to live a stylish, well-rounded life.
RELATED CONTENT
The Truth About Where Hair Extensions Come From
https://youtube.com/watch?v=VlZ1SWLBfPE
Why Fake Kylie Jenner Lip Kits Could Be Dangerous
https://youtube.com/watch?v=G-VsdEy9IF8
What Beauty Is Like Behind Prison Bars
https://youtube.com/watch?v=Dp1DFvQTcJk
SUBSCRIBE TO REFINERY29
Subscribe to the Refinery29 channel: http://bit.ly/subscribe-to-r29
TALENT
Follow Shirley Raines on Instagram: https://instagram.com/beauty2thestreetz/
Follow Lexy Lebsack on Instagram: https://instagram.com/lexylebsack/
Follow Unbothered on Instagram: https://instagram.com/r29unbothered/
Follow OnHerTurf on Instagram: https://instagram.com/onherturf/
Follow Refinery29 on Instagram: https://instagram.com/refinery29/
Category
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LifestyleTranscript
00:01Across the country, homelessness is becoming a crisis.
00:05I want to know how you're going to strengthen people to get out of homelessness.
00:10Are you planning to do anything to stop the increase of homelessness,
00:14or is this just a welcome sign for the rest of the country?
00:16You need to disperse the problems.
00:18This is a decision between whether we keep people on the streets
00:21or whether we take them off the streets.
00:23And in some places, it's driving a divide between the housed and the homeless.
00:28What does it take to be seen as a person?
00:31How does that feel, Queen?
00:33Instead of a problem.
00:35What is so complicated about that?
00:46I get darker tones to put on, and then I put on the concealer
00:50to lighten up around the eyes and stuff.
00:53I don't even know what to get anymore.
00:54I have a hard time picking what it is that I'm getting
00:58because I want to make sure that I'm not wasting my money on anything
01:01because, you know, I'm homeless.
01:0929-year-old Arian Williams has been homeless for the last five years.
01:14She's part of a new wave of homelessness where women are on the front lines.
01:19It's an epidemic that can be clearly seen on the streets of Los Angeles.
01:24I always have to wash my face.
01:27You got to take care of your skin?
01:29Yeah.
01:30For me, it's a lot easier.
01:37Sometimes I shower at the church on Gower.
01:39Most of the time, it's in my tent with a lot of baby wipes and soap.
01:44When you see homeless people, your brain can't fathom, honestly, how somebody could be out there.
01:50All it takes for you to be homeless is they raise your rent and you lose your job if you're
01:56homeless the next month. Point blank.
01:59One of Arian's most surprising survival techniques involves beauty.
02:04This is my makeup bag.
02:08I use my makeup to cope with being out here to make me feel less homeless.
02:18I've had a few jobs. I had to wear makeup to work every day because that's what everybody else was
02:24doing.
02:25And if I don't, then I'll definitely stand out.
02:27When they find out when you're homeless, they treat you a lot differently.
02:37Whether I live inside or outside, I'm still a human being.
02:40I still have needs and necessities just like the next person.
02:45For Arian, a thin layer of eye shadow keeps her connected to society.
02:49But it doesn't shield her from the realities of the street.
02:54What is it like to be a woman out on the streets?
02:56If a woman is out here by herself, she is a walking target.
03:00Every homeless woman I've ever met has been raped.
03:03What kind of unique challenges are faced by women who are experiencing homelessness?
03:08The challenge is that there simply aren't enough resources.
03:12There aren't enough women-focused programs or women-focused housing.
03:17Just 17% of the shelter beds in Los Angeles are designated for women year-round.
03:24And many of them are in mixed gender spaces.
03:27The services that do exist are largely concentrated on Skid Row.
03:33Skid Row has become a shorthand for the area in cities where homelessness gets pushed to the margins.
03:40The most infamous case can be found in LA, where the city has historically tried to contain the majority of
03:46its homeless shelters, services, and people.
03:51Today, there are more than 2,000 people living on the streets in an area that's less than half a
03:56square mile.
03:58It's become the site for some of the most comprehensive services in the county.
04:02But it's also known as a dangerous place, especially for women.
04:07The dog is really high strung right now.
04:09I don't know if you guys know, but you guys need security for real, though.
04:13Oh, for sure. You guys need security.
04:16On Skid Row, it's evil, trifling, and scary.
04:19And it's very dangerous, darling. Like, it's very scary here.
04:23Despite this reputation, Skid Row is also the site of the only shelter in this city that refuses to turn
04:29away women.
04:30Union Rescue Mission.
04:33We refuse to leave ladies out on the street.
04:37They feel like they've escaped from a war zone.
04:40To meet the overwhelming demand, URM blows up hundreds of mattresses and puts them anywhere they can.
04:48On any given night, three to four hundred women find shelter here.
04:53But it's just a drop in the bucket.
04:55What happens if this continues and there isn't a massive intervention?
05:00I already think we're past the tipping point.
05:02The other day, I got a call. There was a 26-year-old woman who ran into our building naked
05:08after being beaten and raped.
05:10It is a FEMA-like, Red Cross-like disaster. And it's not just on Skid Row. It's everywhere in L
05:17.A.
05:18In the midst of this disaster, one woman is reaching out.
05:23One of each. Make sure you want to each.
05:27Shirley Raines single-handedly started Beauty to the Streets, a volunteer-run project that provides home-cooked meals, makeup, and
05:36more.
05:36I don't think I can end homelessness. I think it's a gangrene situation right now. We're trying to put a
05:41band-aid on a gunshot wound.
05:42She comes to Skid Row every Saturday, along with a few friends.
05:48The Fighters for the World is a biker club that offered to come out and support Shirley.
05:54Skid Row is like, alright, we don't care what happens there. Keep everybody in one area as long as it
05:59stays there.
05:59So we decided to come down and lend our aid to make sure they're safe.
06:02Yeah, I don't think I've seen a single police officer since I actually got down here.
06:05Right. No, we haven't either. So...
06:08It seems like you guys are sort of helping to pick up the slack.
06:10Whatever the powers that be, however they're working out their money, I don't think it trinkles down here.
06:15Because they don't see it, it's not a problem.
06:18They don't come down here. But it's rampant. It's everywhere.
06:26It's very important to put something on and see something other than what you're going through.
06:31It's going to get warm in a second, LaFonda, okay? It's nail polish too.
06:35This could be any of us out here. I think that's the biggest thing people need to understand.
06:38There are real life stories out here. There's real life trauma down here. This could be you.
06:49I did the whole stay at home mom thing. I never imagined that this would happen to me hitting rock
06:54bottom.
06:55Michelle Fennell is a 37-year-old mother of four.
06:58This is them. That's the family photo.
07:00Whose world was turned upside down when she had to flee an abusive boyfriend.
07:05I was in a really bad domestic violence situation.
07:09My abuser was trying to kill me.
07:11I had to leave my apartment and I became homeless.
07:14There was really no resources for me and my children.
07:17My children went to go stay with different family members.
07:20After three years on the streets, Michelle finally got housing.
07:24But the only option available to her was a single room occupancy unit.
07:28It means that she still has to be apart from her kids, except for the occasional visit.
07:33What is it like not having your children living with you?
07:36It's so hard. I have to be strong for my children.
07:40And make sure we get back into where we once were as a family.
07:45I'm going to stay here for a while until I'm able to save up and transition to something else.
07:51Just the money to live in a regular apartment is kind of like intense.
07:57Michelle's case is an increasingly common one.
08:00The lack of housing options and support makes it easy to get knocked off your feet and incredibly hard to
08:07get back up.
08:08We have a responsibility as a community to care for those who are in this crisis.
08:13We're not accepting people who've experienced homelessness as our neighbors.
08:19But not everyone feels the same way.
08:22Hundreds of people, many who live and work in Koreatown, raise their voices in protest today.
08:27Homeless housing has proven to be a hot button issue in Sherman Oaks.
08:31Nothing solves homelessness like your home.
08:35Not in my backyard is the biggest barrier to any success of helping people off the streets.
08:42As the homelessness crisis grows, so does the backlash.
08:46Some residents, fearing for their personal safety and property, are pushing back against homeless services and shelters in their neighborhoods.
08:54Venice is the site of some of the most vocal, not in my backyard, or NIMBY, opposition.
09:01What has become one of the most expensive beachfront neighborhoods in Los Angeles now fears it's being overrun by outsiders.
09:15Good evening, everybody.
09:17We're here in Venice at a neighborhood council meeting to learn about a newly proposed housing plan for the homeless.
09:23And as you can see, it's a little bit chaotic.
09:28We could walk away from homelessness. That would not solve homelessness.
09:31This is a decision between whether we keep people on the streets or whether we take them off the streets.
09:36I think that's an easy decision. Thank you.
09:40I have heard the real and genuine fear of women living on our streets in the encampments who are afraid
09:48of being beaten or being raped.
09:49If we do not do this in Venice, the one thing I can guarantee you is that the status quo
09:57will continue and the problem will continue to get worse.
10:01Bullshit! Bullshit! Bullshit! Bullshit! Bullshit! Bullshit!
10:17And we're just one big homeless community.
10:19We could take that same amount of money and put somewhere else where we would actually get these people the
10:24homes they so desperately need.
10:26What is so complicated about that?
10:28I am in favor of homeless housing, but I am not in favor of containment policies.
10:34What you're doing, I believe, is encouraging more weakness.
10:37And I want to know how you're going to strengthen people to get out of homelessness.
10:42You need to disperse the problem. That's what happens when there's a riot. You disperse it.
10:47You're not thinking in those terms. I don't understand why you're not.
10:50Because I'll tell you why. Because it's no longer just in one place or another. It is everywhere in the
10:55city.
10:56Regardless of the NIMBY movement's intentions, it stalls progress.
11:01Hijacking the conversation of how to solve homelessness and making it about who should have to deal with it.
11:07I wanted to know what the mayor had to say.
11:10Do residents, even wealthy ones, have a right to fight where a shelter is going in a neighborhood?
11:16It's literally the most complicated issue I think I've ever dealt with and ever will deal with in public policy
11:20because it has so many different elements. And each person is different.
11:24I think all of us have a responsibility to solve homelessness.
11:28It's about getting to know one person on the street, figuring out what her story is,
11:32and figuring out what is that combination lock that we have to crack open to make sure she can get
11:36back, you know, off the street and onward with her dreams.
11:40So, the color she talked about.
11:42Yeah, I want it blind.
11:45How's that feel, Queen?
11:46It's good to get hair on.
11:47What would you say to someone who argues that hair and makeup shouldn't be a primary focus with the homeless?
11:54What I want to do is just restore dignity, just make them feel important and make them feel beautiful.
11:59Yeah, we cooking with fire.
12:00All the women that I take care of right now, I took care of them with food and water, and
12:04I didn't really get to know them that well.
12:05Until I started giving makeup and doing hair, it's like the beauty salon. They open up when they're in the
12:11chair.
12:13I'm writing. I'm still human.
12:16After being treated like I'm less than human for being broke, you know, I feel like the world needs a
12:23reminder.
12:23You stay on the mission over there, baby?
12:25Yeah, I've just been there for three weeks.
12:27Three weeks? How is it in there?
12:30Trying to get housing.
12:32I would say that we have to understand these women are not out here by choice. Something happened. Somewhere along
12:38the line, they were broken. Somewhere along the line, they were damaged. Whatever broke them and put them on the
12:43street, we need to start with that.
12:44It's been about three years. Me fleeing from my abuser and me actually finding housing. Living in my own place,
12:52I'm able to figure out my game plan.
12:54Because if I didn't have this apartment, I wouldn't be able to go out there and worry about a career.
13:00You're not wasting any time.
13:01I can't afford to. I have my children. My babies, they keep me motivated.
13:07It's already lifting.
13:08How did it feel when you first sat down and Shirley was washing your hair?
13:12It's helping out a lot. When I go look for a place or something, I'll be looking at the park.
13:19Oh my goodness. I haven't had color in a long time.
13:24Felicia, it looks so good. What do you think everyone at the mission is going to say?
13:27You'll be like, wow, where you were?
13:29I think it's pretty awesome. And how you look and, you know, your appearance and everything is important to everybody.
13:36What she does here is powerful. Everybody needs to look pretty. Right?
13:41Alicia transformed before my eyes. And it wasn't just the shampoo and color.
13:47Shirley's kind words and compassion made Alicia glow.
13:51They deserve kindness. They deserve food. They deserve love. They deserve respect.
13:55You're not your situation on the street. You're not the tent that you sleep in.
13:59Open your eyes.
14:00And your head and your name gonna be on the back.
14:03Oh, look how cute. It's cute.
14:05Oh, don't cry love, my baby. Don't cry love.
14:10It's clear that homelessness is an incredibly complex problem.
14:14And solving it here in Los Angeles and all across the country will take time and resources.
14:20But just as vital is recognizing that behind every struggle is a story.
14:27It's something that we can all do that costs nothing and can make a difference now.
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