Petition update · This Is Bigger Than Shawn – It’s a Pattern of Silence, Death, and Cover-Up

Petition updateJustice for Shawn Fortune: Investigate His Death at Pittsburgh Job CorpsThis Is Bigger Than Shawn – It’s a Pattern of Silence, Death, and Cover-Up

Trishawnna DandridgeMiddle River, MD, United States

Aug 7, 2025

Since launching this petition, I’ve shared shocking truths about the unexplained and suspicious death of my 21-year-old son, Shawn Fortune, while at the Pittsburgh Job Corps Center. But today’s update is not just about Shawn—it’s about a deeply disturbing pattern across Job Corps campuses.

🚨 Shawn’s EMS timeline revealed delays that may have cost his life.

He was found around 6:10 AM. EMS didn’t arrive until 6:21 AM. They didn’t begin CPR until 6:26. No AED was used. That’s critical time lost for a young man who may have still had a chance.

⚠️ The Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s office said he died of fentanyl intoxication.

But a contusion on his neck was found and never explained. Blood was around his head. The autopsy declared “no trauma.” Why are these injuries being ignored?

And why did Medical Examiner Stephanie Ballard initially tell me he was “found unresponsive”… only to later avoid that language when questioned again? “Unresponsive” keeps timelines vague and delays legal accountability.

🔍 We’ve uncovered that this isn’t isolated. It’s a nationwide pattern:

In 2023 alone, Job Corps documented 2,702 drug-use incidents, 1,764 violent acts, and 372 sexual misconduct reports across campuses.

Many of these deaths and assaults never make headlines—but they exist.

Platforms like Reddit are now removing posts, blocking petitions, and silencing whistleblowers.

💰 Why cover this up?

Because Job Corps contractors get paid per student enrolled.

Because liability and key person insurance makes it cheaper to settle quietly than go public.

Because families without resources are easily dismissed.

We now know some families have been paid to stay silent. And the students who survive are often threatened, kicked out, or too afraid to speak. This is a machine that thrives on silence.

***WTF?! Families Are Being Paid to Stay Silent — Here's How It Works!

Many people are just now finding out how deep and strategic this cover-up system really is. It’s not a conspiracy theory. It’s a known legal tactic used to erase deaths like Shawn's from the public eye.

💵 Silent Settlements & NDAs

When a suspicious death happens at Job Corps or related facilities:

Families are often approached quietly with a financial settlement.

In exchange, they must sign an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) that stops them from:

Talking to the media

Filing a lawsuit

Sharing the case details online

Even mentioning the settlement itself

These families are legally forced into silence, and the truth disappears.

🔍 Where's the Evidence?

Deaths are reported in brief, but no lawsuits, no follow-up, no investigations come after.

Public records vanish, court cases get sealed, and families disappear from the public conversation.

Reddit whistleblowers and survivors have openly mentioned families “being taken care of”—and those posts are removed or flagged.

In Shawn’s case, the initial plan was cremation—a method that leaves no way to challenge findings or preserve evidence.

⚖️ Why Would Families Agree?

They're overwhelmed with grief.

They’re told this is the best they can get.

They often don’t know their legal rights—or don’t have a lawyer.

They need the money to bury their loved one or support the rest of their family.

🧾 Why Job Corps & the Government Do It:

Avoid public backlash or media scrutiny

Protect private contractor deals (Job Corps is federally funded but privately operated)

Prevent insurance payouts from skyrocketing

Shut down any trail that could lead to accountability or criminal charges

🧨 The Real Reason? Silence = Profits

Centers stay open, and no one gets fired.

Contractors continue to earn millions off “helping” our youth.

Federal audits are avoided.

And families in pain are buried in NDAs while the system moves on to the next victim.

👀 What’s Happening Online?

Reddit is suppressing posts and whistleblowers.

Subreddits about Job Corps are heavily moderated now.

Petition links get flagged as spam.

Families like mine are shadowbanned for trying to raise awareness.

This is not just about my son.

This is about how our most vulnerable youth are being treated like disposable labor.

It’s about how institutions meant to protect them are quietly turning a profit from their silence.

It’s about how grieving families are pressured to erase the truth so these centers can stay open—and our youth can keep being funneled through a dangerous system.

We’re done being quiet. We’re not settling.

📢 Share this petition. Tell your friends. Ask questions. Demand answers.

Let’s expose the truth behind Job Corps and hold them accountable.

And when we search for answers—public records on people directly tied to Shawn’s death are clean or disconnected.

Bob Gottschalk, Director of Pittsburgh Job Corps, was in charge when Shawn died—but there’s no trace of his name linked to this tragedy.

Stephanie Ballard, the medical examiner who called me first, denied her own words later.

Detective Ed Fallert, who told me there were “no signs of trauma” and that “the swelling was from the autopsy,” still has my son’s phone and has not returned it.

🧩 Why are these names scrubbed from public record in relation to Shawn Fortune?

🧩 Why are policies being updated quietly across platforms to silence grieving parents like me?

✊🏽 Now is the time for ACTION. Warriors, this is your moment:

📢 Step 1: If you haven’t already, please read, sign, and share the petition 🙏🏽

🔗 https://chng.it/hwX72P54pw

📢 Step 2: Go to the Google reviews of:

Pittsburgh Job Corps

Allegheny Medical Examiner’s Office

Ball Funeral Home (Pittsburgh)

Allegheny Police Department

Leave a public comment and ask:

“Who will take accountability for the death of Shawn Fortune?”