Tattoo removal at OC Rescue Mission’s Village of Hope helps with starting over

The Orange County Rescue Mission helps people make fresh starts — the same philosophy behind New Story, a new onsite tattoo removal clinic at its Village of Hope in Tustin.

“People can come in here and literally have their life turned around,” Bryan Crain, the rescue mission’s CEO and president, said. “They’re writing a new story, but in many cases they still bear images of their past. Sometimes it’s a gang tattoo. Sometimes it’s branding tied to trafficking. Wouldn’t it be great if we could help people just be done with that?”

Already, 27 people have enrolled in the clinic, its official launch celebrated by the organization with an event on Thursday, Feb. 26.

The 5-acre Village of Hope provides a faith-based housing program for individuals as they transition out of homelessness. The New Story clinic now open there is fully equipped and staffed — entirely by licensed medical volunteers, including two doctors, one physician assistant and a registered nurse.

“It’s painful, but it’s worth it,” said Addy Sanchez, 29, who is currently having two tattoos removed.

“Those tattoos tell a story,” said Sanchez, who spent 14 years in the foster care system, “but they don’t define my story.”

Moving between placements and group homes in the system, she said, “I didn’t get a chance to be a kid. I had to grow up so fast.”

After becoming pregnant, Sanchez said she entered the rescue mission’s trafficking survivor program in 2022 while still dealing with addiction. Now a two-year resident of the program, she is in the process of removing tattoos she says represent a past she is ready to move beyond.

Sanchez said gaining full custody of her son, Jaden, now 18 months old, motivates her to “keep my feet on the ground” and give him the life she couldn’t have. She said she had previously considered getting her tattoos removed, but couldn’t afford it.

Participants in New Story include former gang members seeking to sever ties to past identities, markings that can also be a barrier to employment.

“I want my outside appearance to match my inner appearance,” said Robert Phillips, who has been in the program for eight months.

“It’s a barrier because my tattoos are carried over from prison,” he said. “People are just like, ‘Oh, he’s another gang member.’ I don’t want to be that person.”

He said his tattoos are racially and politically charged, including one on his back that he’s working to remove. Like Sanchez, Phillips credited fatherhood and his love for his 8-month-old daughter, Reagan, for driving his dedication to completing the program.

“I realized I was the problem. I had to fix myself. If I didn’t do that, I would just go right back out there,” he said. “If this place has it to offer, I’m getting it. This place has really done a lot for me.”

The rescue mission also helps participants address sobriety and offers supportive services for residents who want to continue their education, navigate legal barriers such as record expungement, and secure stable employment.