Janette Villafana

Janette Villafana is a bilingual multimedia journalist who for the past five years has worked with L.A. TACO, covering street vendor communities in Los Angeles and highlighting their struggles, successes and daily lives, in addition to reporting on immigration and education. More recently, she joined La Opinión through the California Local News Fellowship program, where her work will focus on showcasing and elevating community voices, with a particular focus on the Latino community. Some of her work has also appeared in LAist, Telemundo 52, NBC4, Remezcla, and other media outlets. Villafana was included in the Latinas Report Breaking News exhibition at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C.

Articles

Carolina stands behind a homemade food cart at the Guatemalan Night Market in the Westlake neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Community & Public Health

‘We Did It!’ Street Vendors Across L.A. County Celebrate a Hard-Fought Victory

But as California moves to decriminalize street vending, many wonder if aggressive policing will stop.

Healthcare Regulation and Reform

Ignacio Torres Rodriguez sells churros, papas and more at Whittier’s Avenue 26 Family Market

Community & Public Health

Food Vendors Contend With a Mental Health Crisis on the Streets of L.A.

As they battle the double threat of attack and criminalization, street vendors report chronic stress and trauma.

Food and Nutrition

The immense mental costs of criminalizing LA’s street vendors

Street vendors face a perilous reality, eduring attacks and robberies on the one hand, and fines, arrest and confiscation of their goods by law enforcement on the other.

Reporting Topics

Reporting Topics

Reporting Topics

Reporting Topics

Reporting Topics

Janette Villafana

Articles

‘We Did It!’ Street Vendors Across L.A. County Celebrate a Hard-Fought Victory

Food Vendors Contend With a Mental Health Crisis on the Streets of L.A.

The immense mental costs of criminalizing LA’s street vendors