
Shirley Raines, who brings beauty and hope to Skid Row, is CNN's Hero of the Year
CNN
Shirley Raines was presented with the CNN Hero of the Year award Sunday night by hosts Anderson Cooper and Kelly Ripa. Online voters selected her from among this year's Top 10 CNN Heroes finalists.
As she received her award Sunday, Raines thanked her children including her late son, who inspired her work.
"This surely hasn't been easy. I stand before you a very broken woman," an emotional Raines said. "I am a mother without a son and there are a lot of people in the streets without a mother -- and I feel like it's a fair exchange."

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