LONG BEACH, Calif. — He calls himself The Hood Santa because he helps some of the most vulnerable families in Los Angeles, but Tito Rodriguez is most dedicated to protecting local street vendors because his own mother was a street vendor.

“She would go door knocking selling shirts, shoes. Whatever she could get that would make her a buck or two,” Rodriguez said. “I have a soft spot for them. I love them.”

Rodriguez left behind a lucrative career in music producing for big names such as Snoop Dogg and the Eastsidaz, earning platinum records and making good money.

However, he said it did not fulfill him. So today, Rodriguez is the director of the Local Hearts Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to helping the low-income communities in LA, especially bringing awareness to the plight of street vendors.

“So here’s the Kevlar, this is what makes it bulletproof and knife proof,” he said.

In recent years, there has been an uptick in violence against street vendors. Street vendors are mostly immigrant, ageing work force who almost only work in cash. Because they are immigrants, many assume they will not go to the police for help.

It is what prompted Rodriguez to fundraise for the bulletproof vests he plans to distribute to street vendors.

One vendor who received the vest is Elio Ramirez, an ice cream vendor in Long Beach. He was attacked just two days prior to doing an interview with Spectrum News.

“They attacked me, and tipped the cheese ice cream into the floor,” Ramirez explained in Spanish. “I tried to fix it because they threw it on the floor, but then they stole money and ran off.”

His story has become all too common.

Data from an LAPD report confirms that between 2010 and 2019, reported crimes against street vendors in the city of Los Angeles increased by nearly 337%.

With the vest on, Ramirez admits he feels more comfortable.

“Yes, I feel more protected, just better,” he said.

The vests bring eyes to the problem, but Rodriguez wants to clarify that he does not think this is the solution. He believes changing the laws to make it easier for vendors to get legal vending permits is what will curb this rise in violence. 

“Get them those licenses, treat them like every other business. If you go into a 7-11 and you assault them, you are going to prison. How come that same thing doesn’t apply to them?” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said that even though this work does not make him the money and accolades he used to have in the music industry, he has not looked back.

“This is my real purpose. I didn’t get these same feelings making money or making music,” he said. 

Rodriguez said he will do this work for the rest of his life, protecting people just like his mother.

To learn more about Rodriguez’s work or how to help, visit localheartsfoundation.org.