helloToday we are beginning a new series, People of the Neighborhood Resilience Project! Meet Diane Webster, a member of our Community Support team.
On her childhood
“I was born and raised in the Hill District. I was raised by my father. My mother passed away when I was eight. It was a tough loss, and I was angry for a long time, though no one really knew it. My dad worked at a mill for 39 years and raised us the best he could. But because I’m the youngest, I grew up not doing a lot of the things you should do. You know, you should learn how to cook and clean and everything you’re supposed to learn how to do. But because I was the youngest, nobody let me do it. That’s not the best way to raise a kid.
On the Hill District
As a kid, I loved playing sports—volleyball, swimming, baseball. We had the best baseball team, the women’s baseball team in Pittsburgh, the Satellites. It was the first black girls team and the best. We were good, really good. We even got our picture in the Heinz History Center. The Hill District was full of life, with bars on every corner and jazz legends like Lena Horne and George Benson and Stanley Turrentine at the Crawford Grill. It was the spot everybody went to…. there was a lot of love back then, too. People looked out for each other. We shared what we had because even though we didn’t have much, we made the best of it. It’s a part of who I am now, always wanting to give back, to share the love.
On how she came to be at the Neighborhood Resilience Project
I came to the Neighborhood Resilience Project because I wanted to give back to my community. I retired after 28 years with the Housing Authority of the City of Pittsburgh. I worked in the director’s office and sat at the front desk. My supervisor was the assistant director of the Housing Authority and she worked in Section 8.
When I retired I wanted to give something back to the Hill District. That’s why I’m here: I thought retiring was what I wanted. But I found out when I got home that that wasn’t what I wanted to do. So I came here to the Neighborhood Resilience Project to volunteer however I could. I volunteered for nine months. And during that time the priest asked me, ‘Would you like to work for the organization?’ And I said, ‘Sure.’
I thank God for the people here. I thank God for Father Paul and for my church, because they instilled in me so much about the Lord. And I’m still faithful. God had a plan for my life, and that’s why I’m still here today. He’s the one who sent me here. That’s why I keep going.