Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 28, 2018)
November 28, 2018 Page 5 Providing Insurance and Financial Services Home Office, Bloomington, Illinois 61710 Ernest J. Hill, Jr. Agent 311 NE Killingsworth St, Portland, OR 97211 503 286 1103 Fax 503 286 1146 ernie.hill.h5mb@statefarm.com 24 Hour Good Neighbor Service R State Farm R Advertise with diversity in The Portland Observer Call 503-288-0033 or email ads@portlandobserver.com PhoTo CourTesy o regon d ePT . of C orreCTions Tammy Kennedy, a Portland Community College leader, removes a tattoo from an inmate at the Coffee Creek Correction Facility in a life-changing program to help women start anew as they transi- tion towards becoming members of the community. Tattoo Removals Empower Change PCC leader helps turn lives around Tattoos can be reminders of the past and a life- style that is best left behind. For the women housed at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility they have the opportunity to start anew as they transition towards becoming members of our community. In March of this year, the Department of Correc- tions, in partnership with Portland Community Col- lege, began a tattoo removal program at the wom- en’s prison in Wilsonville. Tammy Kennedy, a PCC leader who contracts with the institution, runs this potentially life-chang- ing initiative along with Coffee Creek’s hair design program. Kennedy has a certificate in Advanced Es- thetics, which she pursued in part, to bring addition- al treatment, skills, training and certification options to the incarcerated women. As she operates the tattoo removal laser she says, “Many of these women come to our facilities with anti-social tattoos. Whether they are gang, drug or domestic abuse related tattoos, helping them remove that part of their past is rewarding work. Many of these tattoos were directly related to what brought them here. What they once thought was permanent can now be a thing of the past.” One incarcerated woman wrote about her tat- too removal experience, “For 22 years, I’ve had a shackle around my ankle, the permanent brand of a past abusive relationship that I’ve had to be remind- ed of every day as I put on my shoes. The tattoo removal program that you brought to Coffee Creek is changing that.” To date, 362 people have been treated and ap- proximately 750 tattoos have been, or are in the pro- cess of, being removed. The longer term objective is to bring tattoo removal to the men incarcerated, as well.
