Red sand used to bring awareness to human trafficking in Westmoreland County

For Sister Mary Norbert Long, the red sand being spread on sidewalks in Greensburg represents a mission to ensure that the issue of human trafficking is one that remains on the front burner.

Long, 85, a nun with the Sisters of Charity of Seton Hill and a member of Westmoreland County’s Human Trafficking Task Force, has been helping fill cracks in the cement with red grains of sand since 2017.

“We’re doing this to educate people to the extent human trafficking is happening right here in Greensburg and everywhere in the United States and the world,” Long said as she and a group of volunteers on Saturday morning poured red sand into the sidewalk cracks around the Westmoreland County Courthouse.

The Red Sand Project is designed to bring attention to human trafficking. Officials said each grain of sand represents one of the millions of victims and survivors of human trafficking that have fallen through the cracks of society.

Kristin Malone-Bodair is education outreach manager with the Blackburn Center in Greensburg and a member of the human trafficking task force. She said Westmoreland County has historically been among the leaders in the numbers of cases prosecuted in Pennsylvania in part because of its location and access to major roadways that run through the region.

“It’s a problem. We’re a county that has people with vulnerabilities, and you can’t deny the county has drug issues and runaways,” Malone-Bodair said. “And those are prime targets for traffickers. A lot of trafficking has moved online and on to social media. A lot of young people in some cases are unaware of who they are talking to.”

Human trafficking has evolved, she said.

“A lot of people think it’s about children, but it’s also adults. Studies have found 80 to 85% of cases are from family members using other adults for sex and drugs or housing,” Malone-Bodair said.

According to the National Human Trafficking Hotline, 606 notifications of suspected cases were reported last year in Pennsylvania that involved 469 victims.

Pennsylvania’s Unified Judicial System in January reported the prosecution of human trafficking cases in 2022 decreased from the prior year by nearly 41%.

Malone-Bodair stressed that, despite that apparent fall off reported cases, it remains a priority to bring attention to the issue.

Red sand installations were conducted earlier this week at Independence Health Hospitals in Latrobe and Mt. Pleasant; and at St. Clair Park in Greensburg. Additional events are planned this month at various other locations throughout the county.

Anna Rafferty, 20, of Latrobe, who along with her Seton Hill University women’s basketball teammates, volunteered to fill the cracks Saturday around the courthouse and at the Westmoreland County Transit Authority headquarters.

“I think raising awareness for it is very important,” she said.