"My passion for social justice started when I was a kid. My brothers, my mother and family give the strength to continue. There is nothing more rewarding than helping other people."

Carlos Antonio H. Vaqueráno is a crusader of human, legal and social justice, and political representation among Central Americans and Latinos.

In 1980, Mr. Vaqueráno fled from his native county of El Salvador to the United States during the country's bloody civil war that left three of his brothers brutally murdered by a death squad.

"The words homeless and veteran should never go together. So no red tape is how I operate, helping save our lost at any cost. Hooah!"

Sgt. Joe Leal knows first hand what it's like to be caught in the trenches of survival. He experienced homelessness as a youth, and served in the U.S. Army in the Bosnian and Iraq wars, where he was injured, for four years. He spent the next six years in uniform facilitating a program that helped veterans and their families successfully transition from combat to civilian life for the U.S. Army Reserves. Sgt. Leal continues to serve in the U.S. Army Reserves as a civilian, and has dedicated 17 years of his life to doing what he loves to do - helping his fellow soldiers and their families.