Page 17 - ECF_Thrive_Summer2025_flipbook

SECOND SKIN
enCompass’ free tattoo removal
program is giving individuals a blank
slate and a fresh start
By TOM NDEKEZI
Illustration by Nick Ross
IT’S THE MORNING of your job interview, and you’re in go-mode.
You wake up early, so early in fact that you don’t need the four
alarms it usually takes to get you out of bed. A day-old haircut
greets you in the bathroom mirror where you repeat a few
affirmations and maybe even hit a power pose. Over breakfast
(which is another first), you recite the company biography
that you memorized the night before, making sure you know
every face and name from the head office down to the satellite
offices. And after double-checking your teeth for any rogue
spinach omelette bits, you put on the brand-new outfit that
you bought just for today. Sure, it cost a bit more than you’d like,
but hey, that’s what the interview is for, right?
Most of us have been in a similar situation at some point,
and whether it’s a new haircut, a new outfit, or even a new
vocabulary (“I would love to circle back on that!”), we have
probably engaged in a little self-editing ahead of a big
interview. But what does one do when the things they might
want to cover up are in plain sight, laced with stigma and
seemingly permanent?
That’s the dilemma faced by many of those who are served
by the Tattoo Removal and Cover-Up Program at enCompass
Community Safety Agency. And while the name of
the program is pretty self-explanatory, its impact on
program participants is difficult to quantify. Launched
this past fall, the program provides tattoo removal
and cover-up services for individuals with gang
tattoos, racist or hate-based tattoos, or markings
from self-harm, abuse or human trafficking. It’s
quickly become a popular service in enCompass’
larger reintegration program, particularly for clients
who are just trying to get their foot in the door.
“Sometimes the placement of tattoos can have
some anti-social associations,” says enCompass
Team Lead Kezia Wright, discussing the barriers
often faced by clients with tattoos on their face,
neck, hands and other highly visible areas. “There’s
just a lot of assumptions that can be made that don’t
really give that individual the opportunity to truly
show what they’re capable of and the skills they
might have, or to learn the skills they might need to
be in that job. It can be an immediate judgment that
takes away that opportunity.”
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