The Lila Thai Massage was established by Naowarat Thanasrisutharat, former Director of Chiang Mai Women’s Prison (2001 – 2008), to help support the lives of newly released inmates in society. She has dedicated the greater part of her 40-year career understanding and bridging the gap between a non-accepting public, and the problems released inmates encounter adapting to a new community. Prior to their release, these carefully screened inmates go through an extensive training program which allows them to make a living and contribute to society.
Unfortunately, these detainees often encounter discrimination from employers who refuse to hire these skilled therapist. Sadly, due to lack of employment opportunities, some return to a cycle of crime and find themselves back in prison. The Lila Thai Massage was established to help eliminate this pattern of crime and lack of opportunity. The Chiang Mai Women’s Prison and the Institute of Skill Development have designed a 180-hour massage training course for these inmates, which are endorsed and meet the requirements of the Chiang Mai Public Health Department. Thus, we guarantee you will receive a fully trained professional massage therapist. It is our cherished hope that you will see these former inmates in a positive light, and your kind patronage will allow them to proudly start a new life and support themselves and their families.
Lila Thai Massage has been operating since 2008. However, the problems have not been solved completely. After working closely with the Department of Justice Corrections, Prisons & Parole, we have seen that the main areas of concern (largely forgotten by society) are the single mothers, beaten wives, and the living situations of these women—living with convicted husbands in illegal drug trafficking areas in both the city and the countryside. Upon learning these root causes of the problem, Naowarat Thanasrisutharat established the Lila Thai Massage Ex-Inmate Employment and Skill Development Center in 2014 to help and support these women. Here, they receive a massage training course from certified massage instructors (ex-inmates who work for Lila Thai Massage); these programs are endorsed by and meet the requirements of the Chiang Mai Public Health Department. It is our hope that these efforts will continue to reduce the women conviction rates in Chiang Mai and help to solve the societal problems that perpetuate the situation, bringing about our long-cherished dream for a better community