Rhamero West was stabbed and killed on the 9th of September 2021 in Old Trafford. He was only 16 years old.

His family are determined that his life will make a difference, setting up a foundation – Mero’s World – in his name and campaigning to help the children of Manchester grow up in a safe environment.

Monthly awareness walks campaigning for change and safe streets, a social media campaign and community fundraising efforts have been launched and, this last weekend, the family installed Manchester’s very first Bleed Safety Cabinet at The Place library in Fallowfield.

The Bleed Safety Cabinet was created for public access, in the event of someone being stabbed and seriously injured. It contains instructions on how to help control a bleed as well as several pieces of equipment to use, depending on where on the body the person has been stabbed.

Deanne Brown is Rhamero’s cousin. She says: “We’re delighted to have raised enough money to install this first cabinet in Manchester. It’s so important to get early intervention and help save a life before the emergency response team arrive on site. Long-term, we’re hoping to raise enough money to place Bleed Safety Cabinets in every area of Manchester.

“A second cabinet will be placed in Old Trafford, hopefully by the end of March, and we’re raising money for more to go up throughout the city. Taxis carry bleed kits, but nobody knows about them. It’s so important to have publicly accessible cabinets around the city and we’re proud to have installed the very first one in Mero’s memory.”

Each Bleed Safety Cabinet costs £600 to order and install. They are personalised with Rhamero’s face and the slogan “Enough is enough, put down the knives. Save our kids’ lives”.

Rhamero’s death has also meant a change of career for Deanne. This week she will leave her job as Senior Customer Care Adviser at BrightHR and head to Arden University to study Criminology and Psychology.

She says “For me, it’s not just about raising awareness, we also need to educate people – parents as well as children. I’ve got a 5-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.”

Alan Price, CEO at BrightHR, says: “We’re very sorry to lose Deanne but so proud of how she has turned her family’s tragedy into an opportunity to make a real difference. Everyone at BrightHR and the Peninsula Group is so proud of everything she is doing to help make the streets safer, in memory of her cousin. Deanne has been a fantastic employee and will be a big loss to the company. In recognition of her hard work and incredible contribution to us over the last 7 years, BrightHR, Peninsula and Health Assured will each donate the cost of a Bleed Safer Kit. I look forward to seeing her achieve great things in the future.”

The three Bleed Safety Cabinets sponsored by BrightHR, Peninsula and Health Assured will be installed in Hulme, Moss Side and Rusholme.

Bertrand Stern Gillet is CEO at Health Assured. He says: Health Assured is honoured to support Deanne with turning tragedy into opportunity. As a proud North-West headquartered organisation, we’re delighted to be contributing not only to raise awareness of these kits, but also to improving the safety of the Hulme, Moss Side and Rusholme communities. AED Defibrillators are increasingly common in public places, so let’s do everything we can to get Bleed Control Cabinets as widely placed.”

To donate to the campaign and help Rhamero’s family reach their goal of installing cabinets across the city, one in each district, go to their campaign page: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/mero