Gang members change tattoos to change life

They both entered gang life at a young age and became members of Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13 — one of the most notorious and dangerous street gangs in the region, and country.
It was for different reasons that they left, but both — one a 17-year-old girl and the other a 17-year-old boy, whose names are withheld for safety reasons — knew that having gang tattoos removed was an important part of cutting their ties.
The two area teens shared their stories at an event held at the Old Manassas Courthouse on Wednesday evening for a new community program that will allow former gang members to have their gang tattoos removed.

“I didn’t want to tell my children what they meant,” the boy said to the roughly dozen people who attended. “… I want my kids to admire me.”
Formed through a partnership between the Greater Prince William Gang Response Intervention Team and the Prince William County Bar Foundation, the Make A Change Tattoo Removal Program aims to be another step in the rehabilitation of former gang members under 22 years of age.
While the girl removed the small tattoo she had on her hand on her own, the boy plans to go through the program to have his removed.
Rich Buchholz, coordinator of the gang prevention and intervention group, said that it became clear following the formation of G.R.I.T. that there was a gap in services that needed to be filled, partly because the removal process often costs more than what most can afford.
Gang tattoos, he went on to say, only serve as a “reminder of this negative time in their life.”

But beyond that, they can also mean losing out on job opportunities and even the threat of retaliatory violence by rival gang members.
“It takes quite a bit of resolve to leave that lifestyle,” he said, adding that those who do deserve reward for their hard work.
Already three plastic surgeons have donated their services to the program, Buchholz said.
Additionally, a local tattoo artist has volunteered to cover gang tattoos that aren’t candidates for laser removal to make them more “benign,” Buchholz said.

But there are a few requirements to qualify for the no-cost service, which is available only to residents of Prince William, Manassas or Manassas Park who are under 22 years old.
The person must also commit to dissociating from gang membership and association for at least six months prior to the first tattoo removal clinic and complete 50 hours of community service.

The program is being funded through donations, some of which have been made by several members of the Prince William Board of County Supervisors through their discretionary funds, Buchholz said.
For more information on the program, e-mail Buchholz at rbuchholz@pwcgov.org or search under gangs at co.prince-william.va.us.