Everyone has done something during their life they wish they could
change. “Shoud’a, could’a, would’a” is a game we all play at one
time or another. Sometimes it’s just a matter of wishing you hadn’t
eaten that gooey hot fudge sundae, but some deeds have much more far-reaching
consequences...and some can actually brand you for life.
While there is no way to get an accurate count, by some estimates about
18 million people acquire a tattoo each year. It’s a good guess that
at least 80 percent of them subsequently wish they hadn’t done it.
In cases where the tattoo was part of an initiation ritual or gang identification,
the wearable “art” can make a strong, negative statement about the owner
that can make it tough for them to take their place in normal society.
As a former gang member complains, “Everyone knows that most businesses
won’t hire a person with a visible tattoo -- especially if it looks
anything like a gang insignia. Well, maybe you can get a job where
the customers won’t see you. But a questionable tattoo on the back
of your hand, or cheek, or arm sure makes it hard to get a good job with
a future -- whether or not your tattoo is gang-related.”
Houston’s Parks and Recreation Department, in partnership with the Harris
County Medical Society, has come up with a program created to help give
kids with tattoos a chance to have them removed. The D-TAG Operation
Gang Together program was designed to “help individuals re-enter mainstream
society by removing tattoos that would identify them as participating in
or supporting anti-social behavior.” Kathy Cochran, director of the
two-year old program, credits the partnership with the Harris County Medical
Society (HCMS) as being the key to this effort’s success.
“A lot of cities have tried programs like this one,” Cochran explained,
“Most of them enjoyed a brief period of success, but in the long run had
to be abandoned or downsized. Our D-TAG effort relies on access to
expensive, sophisticated, state-of-the-art laser equipment and the trained
technicians and physicians to use it. There won’t be any shortage
of kids wanting their tattoos removed after you announce a program like
this. The problem for many cities is that, after a while, it’s hard
to find doctors willing to volunteer their time month after month to complete
the ongoing removal process. Fortunately, we have the dedicated support
and participation by the HCMS and its member physicians that helps sustain
our D-TAG program.”
Cochran explains that the program exchanges a commitment for community
service for free tattoo removal. Removal candidates, who must be
19 years old or younger, must agree to follow the program guidelines in
order to participate. If the candidate is a juvenile (17 and younger),
a parent or guardian must complete a permission form. The tattoos
to be removed must be visible in normal street clothing to be eligible
for treatment, and the teen must agree to have all their visible tattoos
removed. If the participant acquires a new tattoo while a part of
the D-TAG program, they’re out.
Once the enrollment process is complete, participants attend an orientation
program and watch a video that demonstrates how tattoos are removed with
the laser technique. The teens must perform six hours of volunteer
work at a
City of Houston park for each month they receive the laser removal
treatments -- which can take anywhere from a few months to a few years,
depending upon the size, colors and depth of the “art.”
Michael V. Kelly, II, M.D., a Houston plastic surgeon who volunteers
a significant amount of his time to the D-TAG program and serves as HCMS
Physician Coordinator for the effort, says he does it because “everyone
makes mistakes and these youngsters shouldn’t have to wear theirs for the
rest of their lives.”
“We have the laser technology and training to be able to make a difference
in these youngsters’ future, and they really deserve our help,” Dr. Kelly
said. “I do a lot of tattoo removal in my practice, too, and I find
all these patients have the same wish -- ‘just get it off!’
We had an e-mail the other day from someone who realized their mistake
immediately, and wanted to know how soon a brand new tattoo could be taken
off.”
Houston’s D-TAG program has already helped more than 200 now “tattoo-art
free” teens, and is set up to handle about 50 to 55 youth each month.
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