City Still Hopes to Offer Tattoo-Removal Program

The city’s Community Gang Task Force still wants to create a free tattoo-removal service, but the program is several months away from reality.

“Any time you are going to put on a program like this, it takes time and organization,” said City Councilwoman Barbra Williamson, who sits on the gang task force and its subcommittee trying to create the tattoo-removal program.

The task force is trying to determine where to offer the service, and needs to find volunteers and raise funds to rent removal equipment which costs about $600 a day.

Finding qualified doctors, and nurses to assist them, is the most difficult challenge, said Jan Smith, who chairs the tattoo-removal subcommittee.

A tattoo-removal program started six months ago in Thousand Oaks. Gene Dowd, who runs the program, said that it took him about three months to raise the money to get the program started. He estimates that 30 to 40 people show up for two sessions each month to have tattoos removed or continue the removal process.