They gave me a job, so I promised them that whenever I find somebody in the same shape and wearing the same shoes I wore, I would do for them what they had done for me," said Harris, who studied cosmetology and later operated her own beauty shop in Detroit, MI, before moving to Los Angeles in the late 1950s.

It provides emergency food and shelter for the homeless, tutoring, health seminars and parenting classes, literacy courses, drug counseling, college and career preparation, and housing assistance for anyone who needs it.

In 2002, California lieutenant governor Cruz Bustamante named Harris "Woman of the Year," in honor of her community outreach efforts through Parents of Watts.

[6] That year, she was also named one of U.S. president George H. W. Bush's "Points of Light", bestowed upon citizens who made a significant impact in their communities through volunteer work.

[7] On October 8, 2015, Harris was honored with the Community Leadership Award during California State University, Dominguez Hills' (CSUDH) Founders' Dinner.