well here at home Wayne issues with the
world's largest gang rehabilitation
program we help over 12,000 people a
year that are seeking to leave the gang
lifestyle and also a large number of
people that have been incarcerated and
are attempting to reenter society we
identified the need to provide a tattoo
removal service one of the main reasons
being that it was a barrier for
employment but also just the stigma with
people that have tattoos and are
attempting to leave the gang lifestyle
oh here we go
it feels like popping grease or like a
hot rubberband fully stretched with
needles on the end shooting fire five
four three two one all done good job
yeah see that nice fun are you getting
your eyelids deaf no no no no you're not
ready yet no what are you waiting for
I just not ready I like my job are you
afraid yeah I'm afraid of little candy
for the PATA we probably have over 1200
different gangs and cliques that come
through homeboy industries if you're
here and you're thinking about it I'm
gonna make it happen
oh that's no joke that's the kind of
pain that make you want to punch a baby
Jesus oh I gotta stir it come you're
gonna a lot
oh that's a big league and it will get
better when there's less ink there will
be no need a me background see
this is the real work I capture this
that's worth it it's worth it but wow
this takes time me and my cousin we used
to live in a little village project
right they shot me right there
to learn but um it's okay cause family
house
the family's good thank God going back
to school you know doing productive
things with my life getting out the
neighborhood I mean still in it but you
know I want to show my kids that you
know that I'm strong so they could see
that their money's changing we have a
lot of people that are kind of
straddling the fence on whether to leave
the lifestyle or not I knew at five
years old that I wanted to be a gang
member when I first started getting them
my mom didn't even want nothing to do
with me when I was younger we got into a
situation where we thought we were gonna
fight with some people I pulled out a
gun and they pulled out like five we
agreed to put the guns to the side and
fight like men
but I never works out that way and two
of the guys that were with us they got
killed I lost over a dozen friends to
the gang I am getting a lot older I'm 37
and now I'm just it's time to slow down
I kind of like to see some of my homies
doing good and leaving this behind but
some people they just they don't know
nothing else but this look there's one
of one of my homegirls right here can we
go in there and look you guys want to go
in there see that right okay yeah she
says yeah that would just go and they're
not gonna say anything but she's like
one of the main ones for like the
females is that's another one
it says three villains was your mom
gonna say when you get home is that your
first tattoo you should have got
somewhere you can't see it but that's
cool I mean that's what I Buster you
know one case guy we had were moving
quite a few of the tattoos someone found
out and they kidnapped him they found
out they kidnapped him for like three
days and they redid all kinds of tattoos
all over his body so that was very
unfortunate like for her to be getting
it on her hands and walk home and have
to explain that to her mom that brings
back many memories for me when my mom
threw me out of her house I kind of
regret that I mean she's a lot older now
and I'll see her around here and there
but till this day I have no contact with
her so you have been here before yes
this will be my fourth time I believe so
old tattoo and just trying to grow up at
times I feel like yeah I wish I could
believe the life completely because I
know that I'm not nothing positive is
happening for me being out here but I
don't know it's hard to let go that was
a good day you know we just run run run
run
you