Michelle Myles vividly remembers 9/11. On the day of the attacks, she was working at Daredevil Tattoo , her Lower East Side shop, just a few blocks from the World Trade Center. “It was the most traumatic thing I’ve experienced,” she says. Despite the unprecedented fear, panic, and helplessness she felt closing her shop to the public that day, she quickly realized how she could help her community. As soon as it was safe, Myles and her team of artists began tattooing firefighters for free. “They were hurting so much,” she recalls. “It was nice to be able to provide comfort to them in a time of tragedy.”Tattooing first responders for free was Myles’ direct link to her community, and in its own way, helped her heal after the devastating attacks. “In the past, we’ve come together to rebuild,” Myles says, noting that her shop has survived many hard times since it opened in 1997. “We’ve been through 9/11, the blackout of 2003, and Hurricane Sandy," she says. "But the coronavirus is scary because it’s something we don’t even understand.”