Tattoo Removal Outreach

More and more prisons and community centers around the nation are allowing former gang-members the means to remove their tattoos and completely disaffiliate and detach from their past lives. It is said by many counselors and cops that removing oneself from a gang is a difficult feat, so organizing such committees to help former troubled youth is a great program. The Liberty Tattoo Removal Progam allows past gang members to seek out laser tattoo removal for free in the Sierra Vista area. KSBY 6 News and affiliate of NBC said, "Sierra Vista medical center donates rooms for the tattoo removals once a month. Dr. Fredrick Novy and one of his colleagues conduct the treatments by using lasers to blast the pigments, breaking up the tattoo ink. "We see about 20 patients and remove very small gang related dots to larger tattoos," Dr. Novy said. People in the tattoo removal program must be sober for at least one year and perform community service to show they are really ready to make a change." A number of gang infested areas like Long Beach and Los Angeles, California have also been implementing such programs to help their community.