Justice for Street Vendors
What is Civic Engagement?
1.) According to the New York Times, civic engagement is defined as "working to make a difference in the civic life of our communities and developing the combination of knowledge, skills, values, and motivation to make that difference" and can be done politically or nonpolitically to "promote the quality of life in a community."
The American Psychological Association defines civic engagement as "individual and collective actions designed to identify and address issues of public concern."
2.) When I think of civic engagement, I usually think of community service or voting. However, I believe it is a bit different because I feel as if civic engagement is people from a specific community or group who work together to change and help out their community.
3.) A major social issue in my community would be the way street vendors are mistreated. My community and I are indirectly and directly affected by street vendors.
What is the Problem?
Street vendors are getting arrested for not having permits, being an immigrant, or being just seen as a nuisance to their community, marking them as criminals. However, it is difficult for them to access permits despite specific permit systems and programs. Some street vendors are limited to this because of specific language barriers and may also be scared because some may be immigrants or the systems to obtain permits are confusing or hard to obtain. Street vendors are also prone to harassment and being attacked for the money they have earned. This affects the community because the street vendors will not be able to provide certain cultural foods, clothing, or accessories to the consumers of their community such as me. The street vendors may not be able to make a living to pay for their bills, raising homelessness. Street vendors also have the flexibility to make their own schedules making them more accessible to their family needs. Street vendors also help maintain the economy.
Research on Street Vendors
According to the Los Angeles Bureau of Street Servies (2014), there are about 50,000 sidewalk vendors in the city of Los Angeles. In 2018, an act was passed to prevent street vendors from becoming criminals, called the Safe Sidewalk Vending Act (SSVA) that was passed by California Governor Jerry Brown in 2018. Although the (SSVA) was passed the street vendors still receive tickets ranging from $50 to $1000 if they do not have a permit according to WIEGO.org. Up to this day street Vendors are still being criminalized Tso (2021) explains that street vendors are still advocating to prevent street vendors from becoming criminalized. The street vendors have specifically been concerned about a motion to cite street vendors that block the sidewalk and have city workers spot health and fire code violations (Tso, 2021). Smith & Cummings (2021) explain that although the SSVA passed, street vendors still are harassed, ticketed, and fined. Smith and Cummings findings also show that it is almost more complicated for a street vendor to obtain a permit instead of a restaurant.
This is a picture of Caridad which is a street vendor she interviewed. During the street interview, Caridad shared how street vendors bring the community together and a sense of people's culture through street vending since some immigrants can not go back to their country they rely on street vendors (Rivera, 2018).
Why Does it Affect Me?
Growing up in Boyle Heights my abuelo (grandpa in Spanish) would pick me up after school and would always buy me my elote (corn), raspado (shaved iced) or chips from the street vendors right across my elementary school. I would always look forward to getting my snack after school with the street vendors but they were not there every day. One day I specifically remember police showing up and arresting the street vendors. Back then being the age I was I never really understood why they would arrest the street vendors. Now being the age I am and doing this research there could have been plenty of reasons on why they would arrest them, but most likely it was just because back then in 2005 it was illegal for street vendors to sell. The street vendors remind me of my Mexican culture, identity, help when I'm hungry or craving a snack. The days the street vendors were not there made me sad when I was younger. I also believe the police showing up to arrest them impacted me and now helped me realize that they were definitely treated unfairly. Up to this day, I continue to see street vendors being questioned by police or abused by people trying to steal their money. Many of the street vendors are immigrants and are from my community so when they are affected it affects my community as a whole.
References
Civic Engagement (2009). American Psychological Association. Retrieved from https://www.apa.org/education-career/undergrad/civic-engagement
Liu, Y., YenBurns, P. & Flaming, D. (2015). Sidewalk Stimulus: Economic and Geographic Impacts of Los Angeles Street Vendors. Retrieved from http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3380029
Los Angeles Bureau of Street Servies (2014)
Los Angeles, USA Decriminalizes Street Vendors. WIEGO. Retrieved from https://www.wiego.org/los-angeles-usa-decriminalizes-street-vendors
Tso, P.(2021). LA Street Vendors and Advocates Caution City Council Against Criminalization Measures. LAist. Retrived from https://laist.com/news/la-street-vendors-and-advocates-caution-city-council-against-criminalization-measures
Rivera, Dane. (2018) How LA's Street Vendors Carry the Message of Anthony Bourdain. UPROXX. Retrieved from https://uproxx.com/life/street-vending-los-angeles-food/
S.B. 946, Lara. Sidewalk vendors. (2017-2018). Retrieved from https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180SB946
Smith, D. & Cummings S. New Report Exposes Why Street Vendors Are Still Being Ticketed and Harrassed by Law Enforcement in Los Angeles. Retrieved by http://www.publiccounsel.org/press_releases?id=0151
The Definition of Civic Engagement (2000) The New York Times. Retrieved from https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/ref/college/collegespecial2/coll_aascu_defi.html
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