“Enough is enough, put down the knives. Save our kids’ lives ”. Two children stabbed, both dying of their injuries.
Two families torn apart, both left devastated by their loss. And they’re not the only ones.
From January 2021 to January 2022, Greater Manchester saw at least one stabbing every week where the victim or alleged perpetrator was a teenager.
In the first month of 2022 alone, two young boys under 18 lost their lives to knife crime. And Trafford has seen it’s tragic share in these statistics.
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Kennie Carter, 16, was stabbed in Stretford and later died in January 2022.
Rhamero West, also 16, died after he was stabbed in Old Trafford in September 2021.
In response to this escalating problem of young lives lost too soon, Trafford now has its first bleed kit to help stabbing victims until parademics arrive.
The cabinet has been installed at the Limelight health and wellbeing hub in Old Trafford in memory of Rhamero West, just around the corner from where he was fatally stabbed.
Kate Green, MP for Stretford and Urmston, said: “The rise in knife crime, and the tragic deaths from stabbing of young people in my constituency, give a powerful reminder that we need to act urgently to tackle violent crime. I am pleased the Mayor of Greater Manchester’s violence reduction unit is giving this priority.
“Schools, grass roots community organisations, young people themselves and the police must work together to prevent young people from carrying knives and to educate them about the risks of doing so. The bleed boxes could help save lives and we must also do much more to stop these terrible attacks happening in the first place.”
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The Old Trafford kit is for public use in the event of a stabbing or any other incident which causes blood loss and contains instructions on how to help someone who is bleeding heavily.
Since Rhamero West’s death, his cousin Deanne Brown has been working to raise awareness of knife crime in the community and was an integral part of the fundraising effort for the bleed safety cabinets.
When the first bleed cabinet was installed in Manchester in February, she said: “For me, it’s not just about raising awareness, we also need to educate people – parents as well as children.
“I’ve got a five-year-old son and it’s massively impacted him.
“We’re determined that Mero’s life will make a difference when it comes to creating a safer future for young children as well.
“I’m excited about taking this step and doing my part to help ensure other families don’t have to go through the pain that we have.”
The latest cabinet was unveiled at Limelight, run by Trafford Housing Trust, by Rhamero’s mother Kelly Brown, alongside local MP Kate Green, Greater Manchester Police Chief Superintendent Colette Rose, and Trafford Housing Trust’s extra care and community manager Sarah Millican.
Kelly said: “We have been fundraising for bleed safety cabinets to be installed in Manchester to make it a safer place for children growing up. This has come from losing my son Rhamero West at the age of 16 when he was a victim of knife crime and his life was sadly taken last September 2021.
“Rhamero is greatly missed not only by myself and our family but by his friends and the community. We’ve been doing monthly marches around different areas within Manchester to raise awareness for knife crime and we are in the process of setting up our charity ‘Merosworld Foundation’ – we will continue to fundraise to have bleed cabinets on every corner.”
Sarah Millican, Trafford Housing Trust’s extra care and community manager said: “As a community-focussed organisation we are pleased to support the installation of this bleed control cabinet at Limelight, our health and wellbeing hub in the heart of Old Trafford, helping to improve safety in the area and supporting the lives of young people.”
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