Mikel Brooks was medically retired from the military in 2009 after injuries received in war during his 9 years of service. After his discharge he fell into a cycle a drug use and homelessness, culminating in a suicide attempt in 2017 . After finally reaching out for help, out of those ashes he founded the non-profit We Are The 22. His organizations targets Veterans in crisis using specially trained teams of Veterans volunteers. Those volunteers can relate to those in need, having literally walked in the boots of those in crisis.