Local Health Departments Focus on Human Trafficking with Red Sand Project

The East Tennessee Regional Health Office of the Tennessee Department of Health and Local Health Departments in the are focusing on Human Trafficking as a major public health concern and hosting local Red Sand Project installations across the region to raise awareness.

A Red Sand Project installation is an event where participants pour red sand into the cracks of sidewalks, in areas with high foot traffic, to symbolize victims of human trafficking who fall between the cracks of getting help.

County health departments across the East Region will join local community organizations and leaders to pour natural, nontoxic red sand in sidewalk cracks, create yard signs, coordinate many other creative Red Sand Project events throughout their communities.

Please join us at one of these events:

• July 24 – Jefferson County Health Department at 2:30 pm (931 Industrial Park Road, Dandridge.
• July 25 – Appalachian Outreach before the Backpack Bash (511 Municipal Drive, Jefferson City). 

Human trafficking is a demand-driven crime that involves exploiting a person for labor, services, or commercial sex acts, particularly targeting women and children. Human Trafficking is one of the fastest growing criminal industries in the country, with cases reported in all 50 states.

Reach out to your Local Health Department to get more information about Red Sand Projects and events near you.

If you know someone who needs help to escape human trafficking, contact the Tennessee Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-855-558-6484. If you suspect someone is a victim of human trafficking, call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888 or text 233722. For more information on human trafficking and the hotline, visit humantraffickinghotline.org/.