by Eric Schneider, Housing & Alumni Relations VISTA
From Monday through Friday every week, Our House
residents rest in assured comfort knowing a gentle
giant is burning the midnight oil. During the hours of
12 to 8 a.m., the shelter is under the watchful eye of the
instantly recognizable Carl High, currently Our House’s
longest-tenured Shelter Supervisor. If you happen to
be in the shelter late—or rather early—enough to
witness him on the job, you’ll inevitably see Carl in his
element through his interactions with current residents
which range from stern but sound life and inner-shelter
advice to light-hearted joking and motivational
pre-workday pep talks. To the casual or even long-term
observer of Mr. High in action, it’s hard to get the sense
that he was ever anything but a model of responsibility
and altruism, but he will also be the first to tell you that
this was once far from the case.
“I was on drugs most of my life,” High recounts about
his days before arriving at Our House. In fact, Carl
needed a second chance within the Our House system
as his first stay in 2007 was characterized by “just trying
to beat the system” as “pride and ego took over.” After
another brief period of substance abuse and run-ins
with the law, it really hit High that he needed to make
permanent changes. “I needed time to think, to get my
family back into my life. The second time I went to
prison, it hit me that I didn’t know if I’d get out before
my mom died.”