What makes a healthy neighborhood? Answers to that question have guided Sister of Social Service Diane Donoghue in her mission to build, transform and infuse with hope several low-income neighborhoods in South Central Los Angeles.

Now, after 18 years directing Esperanza Community Housing Corporation, Sister Donoghue will retire at the end of October.

During an outdoor bash to celebrate her legacy at Mercado La Paloma Oct. 5, Karen Villafaņa recalled how she was 14 years old when she and her family were selected as one of the first to move into Villa Esperanza, the corporation's flagship housing project. Her father, said Villafaņa, compared it to winning the lottery.

"It opened up our minds to a whole world of opportunity," she said, noting that she and her sisters worked hard to go to college, and the family was able to buy their first home five years later.

"Sister Diane made such a huge difference to our families and our communities," added Villafaņa, who now works in Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's office.

Born in Minneapolis, Diane Donoghue moved with her mother, younger brother and grandmother to Los Angeles in 1935. She attended Immaculate Heart High School and UCLA where she majored in political science. In 1955 she entered the Sisters of Social Service and received her master's degree in social work from UC Berkeley in 1969. She directed a treatment center for adolescents with mental health problems in Sacramento and then a center for heroin-addicted women in South Central L.A.

After a year of sabbatical studies at UC Berkeley's Graduate Theological Union, she took a position as community organizer for St. Vincent Church in South Central Los Angeles in 1985. The job gave Sister Donoghue a window into one of the most vexing problems for low-income families --- affordable housing.

An ailing mother clutching an eviction notice asked Sister Donoghue if she could help. A factory owner had purchased eight rental homes on 28th and Maple with plans to demolish them and build a garment factory in the middle of a residential neighborhood.

After many appeals to the Los Angeles City Council, the Board of Zoning Appeals, and the Mayor's Office, Sister Donoghue and others got the land re-zoned for affordable housing.

Sister Donoghue formed Esperanza Community Housing Corporation in 1989 and five years later dedicated Villa Esperanza Apartments --- 33 units of affordable three- and four-bedroom apartments for families, a community center and an onsite Head Start program administered by USC.

The project was "a model for how you can really design quality affordable housing with great services for our community," said Robin Hughes, executive director of L.A. Community Design Center.

The $6.5 million project was the first of ten housing projects and two neighborhood parks in the Maple/Adams-Hoover/Adams neighborhoods.

Sister of Social Service Elizabeth Prus worked closely with Sister Donoghue for many years and praised her colleague's "unfailing faith in the most impossible situations." Even when the funds would run out, Sister Donoghue "has faith and keeps going," Sister Prus told The Tidings.

Esperanza's vision of a healthy neighborhood included developing a community-health program, family-based education, as well as the development of a public market-place, the Mercado La Paloma, which provides first time low-income entrepreneurs a supportive environment in which to grow their family business.

A key leader in formulating public policy around housing, Sister Donoghue participated in the Mayor's Blue Ribbon Committee on Affordable Housing, the Blue Ribbon Committee on Slum Housing, the Housing Crisis Task Force and the Housing Trust Fund committees, Nehemiah West Housing Corporation, JERICHO Lobby for Social Justice, and Figueroa Corridor Coalition for Economic Justice.

A tireless advocate for concrete and mortar projects as well as opportunities for education, Sister Donoghue's underlying goal has been much more intangible --- building hope in the community.

Long-time colleague Gilda Haas, executive director of Strategic Actions for a Just Economy, praised Sister Donoghue's "excruciatingly positive attitude."

"Diane's radiant spirit has imbued each of us with true passion for cultivating hope," added Sister Donoghue's successor, Nancy Halpern Ibrahim, who has been on staff for 10 years. "Esperanza will continue to be a force for hope and justice in our beloved community."

After retiring, or "re-wiring" as she likes to call it, Sister Donoghue will continue to be involved in the Figueroa Corridor Community Land Trust. Hoping to see more of the world, friends gave the avid traveler a round-trip ticket to a destination of her choosing.

With her characteristic modesty, Sister Donoghue thanked the many people who have supported her through the years, especially her 51 years with the Sisters of Social Service. The sisters, said Sister Donoghue, have "formed, and informed and transformed my conscience to be conscientious."

Paying tribute to a different kind of housing struggle, Sister Donoghue was in Hungary in September for the beatification of Sister Sara Salkahazi, who established safe houses for more than 1,000 Jews during World War II until her execution in 1944 by pro-Nazi forces.

"I'm a member of a group of very committed women working with and on behalf of those most on the margins," said Sister Donoghue.