Shining A Spotlight on the Great Work Occurring Across the State
Pictured above: The Washington County DSS team at the Safe Place Child Advocacy Center
On January 29th, members of the Washington County Anti-Human Trafficking Collaborative, sponsored and led by the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, organized a “Red Sand” event to raise awareness about the vulnerabilities of those impacted by human trafficking. Red sand was poured into sidewalk cracks in front of the Safe Place Child Advocacy Center to symbolize those who “fall through the cracks of society” and become vulnerable to human trafficking and sexual exploitation.
This Red Sand event included members of the Washington County Department of Social Services, Washington County’s Safe Place Child Advocacy Center, the Washington County Health Department, the Hagerstown Police Department, and Stop Trafficking our People (STOP) — a local grassroots citizens group – also collaborated in this effort
Throughout January, Red Sand events are organized across the country in honor of Human Trafficking Awareness Month. The Red Sand Project is an initiative created by Molly Gochman, an award-winning artist and activist based in New York City, to bring attention to human trafficking through participatory artwork activities.
Washington County DSS invites local staff who are interested in this important work to consider becoming involved in the Washington County Anti-Human Trafficking Collaborative. To learn more about how you can contribute to the fight to #endtrafficking in Washington County, please contact the Collaborative’s co-chairs:
- Johanna Geesaman, johanna.geesaman@maryland.gov
- Neil Mallon, nmallon@ssw.umaryland.edu
The group meets virtually on the second Tuesday of every month from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.
We thank our Washington County DSS team for their efforts to raise awareness about this important issue and for their ongoing collaboration with agency partners!
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