Business Workshop: New Arrivals + Street Peddling

The City of Chicago’s Committee on Immigrant and Refugee Rights chaired by Alderperson Andre Vasquez (40th Ward), in partnership with the Cook County Human Trafficking Task Force, Illinois Venezuelan Alliance, Sociedad Civica Ecuatoriana, Consulate of Ecuador, and City of Chicago Department of Family and Support Services, will be hosting a workshop for businesses that introduces human trafficking, domestic violence and cultural competency around newly arriving asylum-seekers. Businesses with storefronts and special events organizers across the city have lifted up the tension that has arisen when some of our new neighbors, predominantly arriving from Central and South American countries in the past months, have been selling candies or other items on the streets and inside storefronts or at farmers markets without explicit permission. In the past year, the Committee has been involved in making sure that new arrivals understand their rights and responsibilities and cultural context of living in Chicago. We want to share some of this with our businesses! Our goal with this workshop is to provide context on who our new neighbors are and what socio-economic context they find themselves in that leads them to street peddling, as well as how to respond compassionately but firmly when you have uncomfortable encounters. The first training will be on Friday, August 16, 2024 from 10am-12pm.