Luis Miron
- Sep 22, 2020
- 2 min read

During hard times, Las Calles Del Valle are helping street vendors around L. A. County.

Updated: Dec 15, 2020

Panorama City, CA - Street vendors are exposed to crime, verbal racial abuse, and now a global pandemic. A majority of vendors are undocumented and many don’t know their rights. Sebastian Araujo, a 20-year-old UCLA law student started Las Calles Del Valle, a non-profit organization to inform and help street vendors around L. A. County.

Sebastian and his friends have gotten a growing following on Social Media thanks to hard work and transparency when helping vendors in different communities. The team also hopes to bring change in the long term and legalize street vending in L.A. County.

"Our future goal would most likely be to pass legislation in favor of street vendors regarding permits, guidelines so they can sell safely," said Araujo.

Las Calles Del Valle team shared a nice memory with Don Pedro after the buyout. (Credit, Las Calles Del Valle)

Las Calles Del Valle wants to show street vendors that they are not alone and that they have the support from their communities. The team accepts donations in order to hand out safety kits for vendors, thank you meals, and organize buyouts for them.

On Sunday, Sept. 20, they organized a local buyout for an 85-year-old ice cream vendor known as Don Pedro. The goal of the buyouts is to show street vendors the support of the community where they work. All the profits from merchandise sold and donations went directly to Don Pedro's retirement fund He was extremely thankful to the team and the community of Panorama City who came to buy ice cream from him on a hot sunny day.

" I feel very honored that they are helping me and it makes me very happy," said Don Pedro after a successful buyout.

According to the L.A. Times, there is an estimate of 50,000 street vendors in L.A. County.

Yet during the pandemic, they have been left in the dark and without any government relief. As a community, it is essential to show them support during these hard times and nonprofits like Las Calles Del Valle are hoping to continue to bring awareness to the issues street vendors face.