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TUSTIN, Calif. — For the past 11 months, Jose Hernandez has been working with the Orange County Rescue Mission to get sober and stay off the streets.
“I have kids and I don’t want them to see what I was before, so now I am trying to grow in a Christian light,” said Hernandez.
What You Need To Know
- OC Rescue Mission offers free tattoo removal at The New Story Clinic
- The Orange County Rescue Mission is a faith-based, life-transformation program designed for individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
- The clinic is staffed by licensed medical volunteers, which include two doctors, one physician assistant and a registered nurse
- Depending on the size of a tattoo, the removal process can normally cost anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars
The Orange County Rescue Mission is a faith-based, life-transformation program designed for individuals and families experiencing homelessness.
Recently, it started offering free tattoo removal at The New Story Clinic. The clinic is staffed by licensed medical volunteers, which include two doctors, one physician assistant, and a registered nurse.
“I got [this tattoo] while I was in my addiction and that was how I felt, now I don’t feel like that,” said Hernandez.
Depending on the size of a tattoo, the removal process can cost anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars — something that Hernandez said he would not be able to afford on his own.
Bryan Krain is the CEO of the OC Rescue Mission. He said his organization recently started offering free tattoo removal services with the goal of getting people like Jose back on their feet.
“At the end of the day there was a thing that was missing and that was the glaring fact that people were going out maybe for the first time to a job interview in many years and they are still wearing these unwanted tattoos,” said Krain.
According to a 2023 Pew Research study, 32% of adults have at least one tattoo. The study also shows that 80% of adults said society has become more accepting of people with tattoos.
Krain said finding a job is not the only reason his residents are choosing to get their tattoos removed.
“A link to a prior gang life or just unseemly or in some cases or in some cases indicate they have been a victim of human trafficking,” said Krain. “So how can we provide all of these services to people but not deal with something that is right there on the surface.”
Hernandez is hoping that with the help of the rescue mission he can become a better example for his children.
“It comforts me now, you know?” he said. “I don’t take courage in what I wasGod has changed me. Being part of this story and getting my tattoos removed, it means a lot to me.”
