“Hey QQ!” Shouted Shirley Raines. Colorful flowers, pots, and “Home Sweet Home” sign decorate the entrance to Q’s house.
Transgender and HIV-positive Q said in the episode that he felt vulnerable to live in a major part of Skid Row.
“This area is much cooler to me,” says Q. “It’s much safer for me.”
Raines says the main area of skid row can be “very territorial”. That’s why Q and other members of the gay and transgender community live a few blocks away.
“If you can’t protect yourself and defend yourself,” Raines says. “You are here.”
Despite the challenges she faces, Q maintains a positive outlook.
“I love life. I only love the scents of nature, flowers and plants,” she says. “This is the world too. We may not have the luxury down there, but we are humans.”
A few weeks after the episode of “United Shades of America” aired on CNN, Raines released happy news about her friend. Q’s family found her on the show and brought her home.
Raines told CNN this week, “She’s back home and she’s been getting used to it.”
Raines said that it’s been 26 years since Q saw her family and some of the homeless men and women who worked with her came out of the streets, but few reunited with relatives.
“She sleeps in bed, eats at the table, and lives a life everyone deserves,” Raines said. “She is written all over as’miracles’.”
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