Built From Experience. Driven By Purpose.
Demontae L. Walker | Founder, Speaker, Mentor, Trauma Survivor Advocate & Community Leader
TAVICI 18 BRANDS was built from lived experience. In 2018, my life changed after I was shot eight times and left with a spinal cord injury. Long before that, gun violence had already changed my family when my younger brother was killed at 13 years old. I know what it means to have a life you recognize disappear and to have to build confidence, purpose, and independence again from a new starting point.
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Recovery was not a straight line. It required patience, discipline, faith, difficult choices, and the willingness to keep working even when progress was slow. Over time, that experience became more than my personal recovery. It became a reason to show up for other people who are trying to find themselves again after trauma or a major life change.
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That is the purpose behind TAVICI 18 BRANDS: help people choose themselves again. The work is not about asking anyone to feel sorry for us. It is about creating support, accountability, access, and encouragement for people who are willing to participate in their own comeback.
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My community work has included peer support with trauma survivors, youth mentorship, violence-prevention conversations, speaking engagements, and participation in programs that serve people navigating trauma, disability, recovery, and major life transitions. I bring lived experience into every room, but the goal is always bigger than my story: help the next person see a path forward.
CORE BELIEF
"Your win is whatever you choose to overcome."
A win may look different for every person. For one person it may be walking into a room with confidence again. For another it may be asking for help, learning to live independently, returning to work, getting into a program, or simply refusing to quit.
Values
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Dignity
Help should not require a person to perform helplessness.
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Accountability
Support works best when the person receiving it is also willing to do their part.
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Independence
The goal is to build confidence and self-direction, not dependence.
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Access
Sometimes the will is there, but equipment, transportation, money, or family support is not.
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Purpose
Trauma may change a life, but it can also become training for how a person serves, leads, and grows.
