[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 133 (Tuesday, September 29, 1998)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1848]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THREE FINE DOCTORS WHO CAN ERASE THE PAST.

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. STEPHEN HORN

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 29, 1998

  Mr. HORN. Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to Drs. Bryna Kane, 
Edward Glassberg and Wendy Hoffman, who are offering their medical 
services to help former gang members turn their lives around. With the 
help of Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, the Long Beach Health 
Department, and the Long Beach Police Department, Drs. Kane, Glassberg, 
and Hoffman lead Erase the Past, a new program that removes the tattoos 
of former gang members for free in exchange for community service.
  All of us, especially those of us from urban areas, are well aware of 
the terror that gangs can cause. Los Angeles County alone has 
approximately 1,000 gangs. Many young people are lured into joining 
gangs and regret it later. Some find it nearly impossible to leave that 
part of their lives behind them, however, because of the tattoos they 
were scarred with as gang members. As a visible sign of a violent past, 
gang tattoos can make it difficult for former gang members to find jobs 
and rebuild their lives.
  Dr. Kane is all too familiar with unwanted tattoos. She is the 
daughter of Holocaust survivors, and she remembers vividly the tattoos 
that the Nazis had burned into the skin of family friends. Those 
tattoos were an unmistakable and inescapable reminder of the Nazi death 
camps.
  Dr. Kane, a dermatologist, and Drs. Glassberg and Hoffman organized 
Erase the Past to give these individuals a better chance to leave the 
world of gang violence. They remove tattoos once every month at Long 
Beach Memorial. This program is available free of charge to those ages 
14 to 25 who have not had a reported gang incident in the past six 
months. In exchange for the one-hour tattoo removal session, the 
individual must perform five hours of community service. The removal of 
a tattoo can require up to three or four treatments.
  Erase the Past gives young people a helping hand in leaving gangs and 
helps them remove a major obstacle to becoming a productive member of 
society. It also encourages community service. All of the benefits 
spring from the generosity and ingenuity of these three doctors and the 
organizations and agencies assisting them. Drs. Kane, Glassberg, and 
Hoffman and Long Beach Memorial Medical Center, the Long Beach Health 
Department, and the Long Beach Police Department deserve our gratitude 
and praise.
  Mr. Speaker, I have added a wonderful article on Erase the Past. It 
is written for the Press-Telegram by a very fine reporter, Bonnie 
Heald.

                       PURGING THEIR PAINFUL PAST

       As a young child and daughter of holocaust survivors, Bryna 
     Kane clearly remembers the visible and permanent sign of the 
     Nazi death camps--the tattoos crudely burned into her 
     relatives' arms.
       Today, Dr. Bryna Kane is committed to removing more modern 
     tattoos that also are painful reminders of the past--those of 
     former gang members.
       Kane, a Long Beach dermatologist, and her partners, Drs. 
     Edward Glassberg and Wendy Hoffman, launched a program at 
     Long Beach Memorial Medical Center on Wednesday to help 
     youths remove the visible emblems that stigmatize them as 
     gang members.
       The program, called Erase the Past, offers former gang 
     members free tattoo removals in exchange for community 
     service. The tattoo removal program will be held once a month 
     at the medical center for people between the ages of 14 and 
     25.
       All participants will be screened and must have clean 
     police and probation records without a reported gang incident 
     in the past six months, Kane says.
       For each hour-long session of tattoo removal, the 
     participant must perform five hours of community service. 
     Complete tattoo removals may take three to four sessions, 
     Kane says.
       ``These are kids who want to change,'' Kane says. ``A 
     tattoo is the last vestige of a life they want to forget.''
       Kane and Glassberg use an ND-YAG laser, the latest 
     technology for tattoo removal, that they purchased for their 
     private Long Beach practice.
       Kane's interest in tattoos stems from her childhood in the 
     1950s.
       ``I remember so vividly my parents' summer parties. It was 
     80 degrees, and all these people were wearing long sleeves 
     because they didn't want anyone to see the tattoos the Nazis 
     had burned into their arms. . . . I was a child, so I was 
     eye-level to these peoples' tattoos. I remember them as ugly 
     scars.
       The Long Beach Police Department is providing the program 
     with volunteers for some of the administrative tasks, says 
     Lt. Torben Beith, the officer in charge of the department's 
     gang enforcement section.
       A lot of organizations are involved with the program, says 
     Beith, who has been attending monthly planning meetings since 
     last November.
       ``The tattoos are an excuse, especially for the older ex-
     gang members,'' he says. ``They say `I can't get a job 
     because I've got tattoos.'
       ``We're targeting younger kids. A lot of them want to get 
     out.''
       Alvin Bernstein, superintendent of the gang intervention/
     prevention unit for the city of Long Beach sees many young 
     people who want a fresh start, he says.
       ``They realize they have made a huge mistake, both male and 
     female,'' he says. His office, along with the Police 
     Department and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's 
     Office refer former gang members to Kane's growing list of 
     young people who want to be rid of the visible signs of their 
     former gangs.
       There's already a huge waiting list, says Long Beach Mayor 
     Beverly O'Neill, who joined the program's kick-off party at 
     Memorial Hospital on Wednesday.
       O'Neill would like to see the city help fund the purchase 
     or rental of a second laser machine, she says. Each laser 
     costs between $80,000 to $100,000.
       Chris Van Gorder, Memorial Medical Center's chief executive 
     officer, has offered the hospital's help in raising money for 
     a second laser. Memorial is providing support staff, 
     facilities, space and security for the program.
       As a former police officer, as well as a health care 
     administrator, Van Gorder understands the difficulties faced 
     by young people laden with visible tattoos.
       Van Gorder, the former police officer, believes the one-on-
     one program between doctor and patient can help change a 
     youthful attitude, he says. With gang-related tattoos, ``they 
     don't have a chance to get through the initial (job) 
     interview,'' he says.
       And Van Gorder the health care provider adds, ``Maybe we 
     can keep some of these kids out of our trauma center.''
       Anyone wishing to donate to the Erase the Past program, can 
     send a check made payable to the Memorial Medical Center 
     Foundation for Erase the Past, 2801 Atlantic Ave., Long 
     Beach, CA., 90801-3652.