Removing the Past to Rewrite the Future: Inside New Life Centers’ Tattoo Removal Clinic

A participant undergoes the process of laser tattoo removal at a community center in Pilsen, thanks to an initiative from New Life Centers.

On a quiet February evening inside a community center in Chicago’s Pilsen neighborhood, a couple dozen people gather, not for a workshop or a neighborhood meeting, but for something far more personal: laser removal of gang-related tattoos.

These tattoos once meant loyalty, survival, and identity. Today, they can represent barriers to personal safety, employment, and peace of mind.

Many of the individuals in the room grew up together. Some have known each other for years. This shared history is the main driver of their shared growth, with many attending the clinic after finding out about it through word of mouth.

Leading the charge is New Life Centers’ (NLC) Street Outreach Coordinator Elias Roman. For Roman, the work came naturally.

“I was actually one of the first participants in the tattoo removal program,” said Roman. “I kind of was going off faith and hoping that nothing happens to me. Because [I] was in the middle of different gang territories.”

Despite his initial fears, Roman attended the first laser tattoo removal event in 2016 and has been involved ever since.

“I was trying to switch my life around,” he said. “I kind of needed these tattoos removed to get a job, to start going to different places, to open up my options.”

The most common tattoo removals are the ones visible on someone’s face, neck, and hands. While some go through the process to better their employment opportunities or pursue a lifestyle change, the reasoning can go much deeper. Some tattoos can put individuals at risk while walking down the street or sitting at their child’s school event.

For NLC Peacekeeper Supervisor Jose Barragan, the clinic is about more than ink.

“Professionally, these guys are trying to develop,” Barragan said. “We want them to also feel that it’s important how you look. Your appearance is everything. It plays a big part in how people engage with you.”

For some, their tattoos are offensive or inflammatory. For others, they’re simply reminders of a chapter that no longer fits.

One participant who asked to only be identified by their first name Eugene, views removing his tattoos as a form of healing. He sees the process as cutting ties with those in his past.

“Having [that tattoo] on me preserves those relationships,” Eugene said, while speaking on past associations. “Every time I look at it, I have to think about it. I don’t want to think about it.”

Participants like Eugene often need to attend multiple laser removal sessions to completely fade the ink.  The larger or darker the tattoo, the longer it takes. New Life Centers partners with a licensed laser specialist to subsidize the cost of removal, so participants pay $20 per session.

Despite laser tattoo removal being no walk in the park, the results can be impressive. Some participants with face tattoos see major fading in eight to 10 sessions. Transformation is often thought of in a symbolic sense, but at New Life Centers, transformation is visible.