Meet April Johnson from the leadership class of 2025
April Johnson is a Coshocton County native with both sides of her family deeply rooted in the county. She lived in Coshocton until first grade when her family moved to West Lafayette. A 1998 graduate of Ridgewood High School, Johnson played volleyball and basketball and was in Teen Institute, an “antidrug/Prom Promise” type of program.
Following graduation, Johnson didn’t know what she wanted to do, so she went to work at Lafayette Pointe as an attendant for a couple years. In 2000/2001, Johnson moved back to Coshocton and started her own in-home daycare. Her typical clients were single moms with “no support system” so she “became that person.” She would take the kids to school or medical appointments if needed; buy formula or diapers and from this, fostered lifelong relationships with the mothers as well as their children she cared for. She cared for these kids, some from birth, until they no longer needed care. It was “good consistency for the kids.”
After some time, Johnson decided she had “more to give” so began looking at programs offered at COTC and thought human services “looked interesting.” She received her Associates of Applied Sciences in Human Services in 2017, and said, “I met some great people there, including some associated with First Step, which I didn’t know anything about it.” Johnson completed a practicum at Hopewell Industries and at that time considered the field of developmental disabilities (DD). She jumped right into completing her bachelor’s and started in the accelerated program at Mount Vernon Nazarene University (MVNU), which was a very intensive program. In 2019 she began working part-time at First Step in the shelter which really “informed her decision to changed focus from DD to victim’s advocacy.” This was “all new” to Johnson, which “made it really excellent.” She hadn’t had new learning so was “kind of scared going into the unknown but really excited because I could be really good at it, the people aspect. I like working with people. I like seeing them do well; helping them realize ‘oh, I can do this!’ and having success; having them come to me and say, ‘oh, this worked!’ and take the next step. Not to be clichéd, but we really are that “first step” for people in domestic abuse situations. It’s not an easy choice to make to ask for help. It’s just the first step to many more difficult decisions.”
Johnson began working as a case manager at the shelter in 2021, and as she said, “It didn’t change a lot as I was already stepping in to help the existing case manager. The only difference was a change in shelter dynamics going from second to first shift.” Johnson found herself with more time on her hands during the day shift at the shelter, so she began taking trainings to learn more. In March 2020 she completed her bachelor’s but due to covid, no ceremony was held, which was disappointing as she was the first in her family to get a Bachelor’s.
In October 2022, Johnson began to split her time between the shelter and office, working two days at each location and now she is at the office four days a week. She describes her position as “direct services provider” and in this role, meets with clients weekly for ongoing support. Not all of them are shelter residents, but all of them need resources and she is there to help. “Trust and rapport are paramount” in this position, and you “have to be willing to give grace. The clients have to know that you care, and this is a safe space for them. It’s my responsibility to help,” Johnson said. She also recognizes that First Step is a small agency, and “they can’t afford to duplicate services. We have to remain focused on domestic violence.” She makes referrals to other resources if they aren’t able to help, and tries to problem solve. At First Step, providing services to victims of domestic violence is a team effort, and they all have that one goal in mind.
Johnson is very family-focused and cares for her elderly father. She enjoys making time for her nephews and long-term friendships, stating, “Family is important. My people are here, and I have everything I need.”
When asked why she decided to participate in Leadership Coshocton, Johnson said, “There are changes taking place within the agency with people nearing retirement. Looking toward taking on responsibilities, I wanted to have an easy transition. Both Vicki (Laudick-Casey) and Megan (Philabaum) spoke very highly of their experiences and how much they enjoyed it. Now was the time.”
Johnson wanted to participate to expand her network, stating, “I really like the connections I’ve been able to make. I don’t know if the people I’ve met can be a resource, but they are good connections to have. I’ve made relationships already that I would not have otherwise.”
Of the community, Johnson points out it “is always in flux. Growth-fallback-growth-fallback. People get invigorated about an issue and come together to address it. They work strongly toward a common goal then it falls by the wayside.”
Johnson isn’t sure what would make the county stronger, referencing her point about the state of flux: “Any improvement or sustainable anything, there are no guarantees. Finding resources where there are none- for example, there are no financial guarantees that you’ll receive the same funding the next year or cycle. If there were a straightforward way to fix it, it would have been resolved already. It’s a constant flux.”
When asked if she would recommend Leadership Coshocton for others, Johnson said, “I think it’s a great opportunity to get out of your comfort zone but in a safe space. I suspect that there are going to be points that each of us will have a realization about ourselves that we didn’t have. I’m excited to see what that will be in me and looking forward to watching others grow and develop as that’s the version I’ll be working with” in the future.
Category: People & Places
