Winnipeg’s free gang tattoo removal program on pause after machine stolen in break-in

A tattoo removal machine was stolen overnight Friday from a Winnipeg shop offering free sessions for people trying to turn their lives around.

Mother Ink offers free removals of tattoos that prevent people – such as ex-gang members — from getting jobs. The theft has left the shop unable to continue its work.

“People have said how much it changes their life,” said Della Steinke, owner of Mother Ink. “It’s not just because other people are actually seeing these gang tattoos and right away they’re stereotyped for their past. It’s part of a healing process for them. They can let go of that past and not have to look in the mirror every day and actually see that.

“The way I look at it, addictions and everything else, people are going to do things that they wouldn’t normally do. I wish they wouldn’t have taken the machine so that we could continue the program right now and everything. But we’ll get through it.”

Steinke says in addition to the machine, nearly everything she had stocked up to give out to community members was taken during the break-in.

“Obviously they needed this stuff,” she said. “They took clothing and they actually went through the cupboards and they took the majority of the food that we had stored to actually feed the homeless.”

Steinke and some of the other businesses making their home at 505 Sargent Avenue in Winnipeg regularly provide food and clothing to unsheltered people in the area during their weekly patrols.

Michele Wikkerink, the executive director of Spence Neighbourhood Association where Steinke has her shop, says people in the area continue to struggle to have their basic needs met, and she believes the break-in was not done out of malicious intent.

“It’s a desperation kind of break-in,” Wikkerink said. “You know that something could be available to you, you know that it’s something that could get you some money.”

Steinke has been removing tattoos for nine years, and estimates she’s done over $1 million worth of free removals for the community – including around 400 ex-gang members.

“As anybody who just wants to come in if they’re having a hard time getting a job because they have a tattoo on their face or their neck or something like that, then we’ll help them as well,” the Mother Ink owner said.

Steinke remembers one client in particular whose life was quickly impacted by a tattoo removal.

“She actually had a few teardrops down her eye,” Steinke recalled. “She had applied for school, I think it was four different times, and she was turned down every time. We did a few sessions and it was completely gone. She actually got into school, she got into training. She’s actually a heavy equipment operator now on the oil rigs. She’s never had a job before in her life and now she has this job, she has a home, everything.

“I have such a close relationship with so many of them… I think a lot of times they do more for me than I do for them, but it’s really nice.”

RELATED: ‘Leave the past in the past’: Free gang tattoo removal program in Winnipeg

Steinke says the impact is especially noteworthy for those who have children they don’t want exposed to gang-related ink.

“It’s a real big change for them,” she said. “Even the first day that they leave here, they’re in tears a lot of times because, to get rid of that, it’s such a huge impact on them.”

“The process of removing your tattoo is quite an intimate and difficult process,” added Wikkerink. “It sort of takes a lot out of you to make that decision, even. It’s relatively easy to get a tattoo put on, but it’s quite difficult to get removed.”

Steinke says this setback will not stop her, and she’s working to get another tattoo removal machine soon. The plan is to borrow a machine until she can get a new one, as they can cost anywhere from $40,000-$200,000.

She’s still hoping the original machine turns up.

“If anybody hears anything about the machine or anything, I would be more than happy to just take the machine back no questions asked,” she said.

Anyone wishing to donate or learn more about the Mother Ink tattoo removal program can visit this website.