Ms Brown and Ms Burke lean on each other for support and are members of a Whatsapp group of 35 women across the country who have lost a child to knife crime.
Ms Brown said: “We have, both of us, got great support networks with family and friends but no-one understands our pain apart from another mother going through it.”
Ms Burke said making sure children were educated on the long-lasting, devastating consequences of carrying a knife was crucial.
She said: “I’m five years losing Ty’rellé and it doesn’t get any easier, it gets harder, because I know now he’s not going to walk back through the door.”
Ms Brown added: “I truly believe, starting from primary school, Year Five and Six, before they transition into high school is the important age.”
Both women also called for heavier sentences for carrying knives in public.
“But you’ve got to get the root cause of why these kids are carrying the knives, what’s behind it,” Ms Brown said.
To that end, she set up the Mero’s World Foundation which provides education and has installed 57 bleed safety cabinets around Greater Manchester.
Ms Burke founded Be Part of Change, which hosts meetings for families affected by knife crime and is launching a games hub for young people in Wythenshawe.
Both women also deliver talks in schools and colleges.
Ms Burke said: “My sole purpose is to save as many children as I can.”
