Body Art to Reclaim and Empower Inc. — NYC
Scars tell where you've been.Ink tells where you're going.
Transforming points of trauma into positive, empowering art for survivors of self-harm, domestic abuse, and human trafficking.
ABOUT + MISSION
BARE Inc.
Body Art to Reclaim and Empower Inc.A specialized service utilizing proven therapeutic principles to re-empower trauma survivors with no-cost or low-cost cover-up tattoos for scars from self-harm, domestic abuse, human trafficking, and more.
The First Non-Profit of Its Kind
No other organization bridges licensed therapeutic practice and professional tattooing for survivors of trauma. BARE Inc. pairs survivors with trauma-informed artists, removes cost as a barrier, and documents outcomes so the model can be studied and replicated.
Trauma-informed care
Consent, pacing, and predictability guide every step — the recipient sets the terms of their own session.
Somatic healing
A planned, chosen, controlled physical experience re-patterns the relationship between survivor and injury site.
Reclaiming body autonomy
Choosing what your skin says is authorship — turning an involuntary mark into a deliberate one.
Services
Sliding-scale scar cover-up & integration
Tattoos to cover or incorporate trauma scars are provided at no cost or low cost using a sliding-scale model dependent on the recipient's financial situation. Cost should never decide who gets to reclaim their body.
Custom consultations
Every design begins with a private conversation that prioritizes the recipient's history, boundaries, and comfort — never a rushed intake.
A safe, supportive environment
Sessions are shaped around personal needs: pacing, breaks, support people present, sensory adjustments, and the right to stop at any moment.
Trauma-informed artists
We collaborate only with experienced tattooers trained in trauma-informed practice and skilled in scar-tissue and cover-up work.
How the sliding scale works
One program, three ways to pay. Your tier is set with you during intake — based only on what you can genuinely afford, never on your story.
No cost
You pay $0
Fully funded by donors — the entire session is covered for you.
Partial
You pay some
A reduced contribution scaled to what is genuinely affordable.
Full cost
You pay in full
Your payment directly funds another survivor's session.
No proof of hardship required. If cost is a barrier at any point, tell us — we will adjust.
Impact
Real transformations. Real artistry.
These are representative placeholder previews of the scar-cover-up work BARE Inc. will deliver. Once we are providing services, every transformation story will be published only with the recipient’s full, revocable consent.
Before & After Showcase
Drag the slider on each image to reveal the cover-up. Every design is tailored to the recipient’s body, history, and sense of self.
Forearm
Forearm botanical sleeve
Flowing floral linework integrates a subtle surgical line into a continuous botanical sleeve chosen by the recipient.
Shoulder
Shoulder ornamental blackwork
Geometric mandala and blackwork patterns cover a faint surgical mark, turning the shoulder into a deliberate canvas.
Thigh
Thigh peony & vine
A soft peony and trailing vine design covers a subtle healed line, reclaiming the area with organic, personal artwork.
Academic Research Library
A curated collection of scholarship on the psychological benefits of transforming scars through body art. Full articles are published here as author permissions are secured.
Tattooing as post-traumatic identity reconstruction
Reviews qualitative interview literature on survivors who use tattooing to author a new narrative over injury sites, with attention to agency and self-concept.
Request AccessBody modification and reductions in self-harm ideation
Summarizes longitudinal findings linking chosen, planned body modification to decreased urges toward self-injury in recovering populations.
Request AccessEmbodied agency after interpersonal violence
Examines how intentional, aesthetic changes to the body can restore a sense of ownership and control for survivors of domestic abuse and trafficking.
Request Access
Hi, I'm Paul.
I founded BARE Inc. because a scar should never be the last word a body says about what happened to it. Working in NYC tattoo studios, I saw again and again how much a chosen, collaborative piece of art could change how someone stood in their own skin.
BARE Inc. is the first non-profit of its kind — bridging licensed therapeutic practice and professional tattooing. We pair survivors with trauma-informed artists, remove cost as a barrier through a sliding scale, and document outcomes so the model can be studied and replicated.
“We don't erase the past — we hand the pen back to the person who lived it.”
Voices
What transformation sounds like
Illustrative placeholder quotes from survivors, clinicians, artists, and allies. Real testimonials will replace these as our first recipients complete their work.
For fifteen years I dressed around my arms. The first morning after, I put on a t-shirt without thinking about it. That's the part nobody warns you about — how ordinary it feels to finally be free.
Program recipient
Survivor, Brooklyn
I've had clients stall in treatment because the mirror kept re-traumatizing them. Having a consent-led, artist-partnered option to offer changes what recovery can look like.
Licensed clinical social worker
Trauma therapist, Manhattan
We tattoo people every day, but this is different work. The intake, the stop signals, the pacing — BARE taught our studio how to hold the room properly.
Partner studio owner
Tattoo artist, Queens
The design meeting alone was worth it. Nobody had asked me what I wanted my body to say. I got to answer that for the first time.
Program recipient
Survivor of domestic abuse
What impresses me is the rigor. They're not making claims — they're building the documentation so the field can actually evaluate this.
Research collaborator
Psychology faculty
I volunteered expecting to help with logistics. I stayed because I watched someone walk out standing taller than they walked in.
Community volunteer
Ally, NYC
For fifteen years I dressed around my arms. The first morning after, I put on a t-shirt without thinking about it. That's the part nobody warns you about — how ordinary it feels to finally be free.
Program recipient
Survivor, Brooklyn
I've had clients stall in treatment because the mirror kept re-traumatizing them. Having a consent-led, artist-partnered option to offer changes what recovery can look like.
Licensed clinical social worker
Trauma therapist, Manhattan
We tattoo people every day, but this is different work. The intake, the stop signals, the pacing — BARE taught our studio how to hold the room properly.
Partner studio owner
Tattoo artist, Queens
The design meeting alone was worth it. Nobody had asked me what I wanted my body to say. I got to answer that for the first time.
Program recipient
Survivor of domestic abuse
What impresses me is the rigor. They're not making claims — they're building the documentation so the field can actually evaluate this.
Research collaborator
Psychology faculty
I volunteered expecting to help with logistics. I stayed because I watched someone walk out standing taller than they walked in.
Community volunteer
Ally, NYC
FAQ
Questions, answered
Get Involved
Fund a survivor's first session
Every dollar goes toward chair time, materials, and consultation hours for recipients on the no-cost tier. You are not buying a tattoo — you are buying someone the right to choose what their body says.
Give directly to BARE Inc.
No forms, no amounts to pick — just a secure donation that puts resources straight into our no-cost cover-up program.
Donate NowPromotional Materials
BARE Inc. One-Pager (PDF)
Mission, model, and program overview for clinicians, donors, and studio partners.
Branded Promotional Kit
Logos, flyer templates, and social graphics for community advocates and events.
Other Ways to Help
Volunteers
Help with intake coordination, outreach, event support, and studio-day logistics.
Partner studios
Offer chair time, join the artist network, and complete trauma-informed practice training.
Community advocates
Share our materials, connect us with survivor services, or host a fundraising night.
Contact
Start a conversation
Whether you're a survivor considering the program, a clinician, an artist, or a donor — we read everything that comes in.