Blackburn Center continues to expand Red Sand Project, drawing awareness to human trafficking

Sep. 18—Throughout September, Westmoreland County residents may have noticed red sand filling in the sidewalk cracks at prominent locations such as Independence Health System hospitals, the county courthouse, local libraries and Seton Hill University.

A sign accompanying the bright red sand notes that it is part of the Red Sand Project, a nationwide initiative to draw awareness to the issue of human trafficking.

“I don't think a lot of people realize that human trafficking is here in Southwestern Pennsylvania,” said Kristin Malone-Bodair, education and outreach program manager at The Blackburn Center in Greensburg. “People tend to think of it as international — people coming from other countries, massage parlors, things like that. But it can happen to people right here.”

Pennsylvania was fourth in human trafficking in the nation in 2019, with federal courts handling nearly 40 cases according to the nonprofit Human Trafficking Institute.

Chinese national Hui Xu, 46, of Mt. Pleasant pleaded guilty to human trafficking charges in 2019 after her ring of massage parlors in Murrysville and Monroeville was broken up by the state. Anthony Juskowich, 22, of Pittsburgh's Oakland neighborhood was indicted in February 2021 and sentenced by a federal grand jury to 15 years in prison for trafficking. A similar jury returned a child trafficking indictment against Adrian Petty, 26, of Buffalo, N.Y., in May 2021. And in the Alle-Kiski Valley, Shannon Lynn Shannon, formerly of New Kensington, was sentenced to 10 years in prison for sex trafficking in 2021. The prostitution ring used a 14-year-old girl.

“Many people don't see themselves as victims because they entered into trafficking as the result of a relationship,” Malone-Bodair said. “Sometimes people have an addiction, and they sell themselves or their children to feed that addiction. There's no one scenario or way that human trafficking ends up happening.”

Thanks to Pennsylvania's Act 55, passed by the Legislature to amend the state's public school code in 2022, the Blackburn Center now has a presence in every secondary school in Westmoreland County. Act 55 updates require secondary schools to establish an education program related to dating violence and sexual consent.

“That's new for this school year,” Malone-Bodair said. “We go in and talk about our services, about domestic violence and sexual assault.”

On Thursday, Blackburn officials will host a Red Sand Project event with students at Westmoreland County Community College's New Kensington campus from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Other events are planned at the New Florence Library (1 p.m. today) and at the Bad Rabbit Cafe and Roastery in Scottdale (3 p.m. Friday).

Malone-Bodair said the more people who her group can reach with the message, the better.

“We really want to get out to places like Monessen and New Kensington which are a little farther away,” she said. “We're trying to get into as many places as possible to talk to students about things like bullying and internet safety, because a lot of that is also tied in with how people are led to human trafficking.”

For more on the Red Sand Project and the Blackburn Center, see BlackburnCenter.org/humantrafficking.

Patrick Varine is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Patrick by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .