ANTOINE JOHNSON
Program Manager/Director
ABOUT
Mr. Johnson is currently the Program Manager/Director of the Buffalo Fatherhood Initative of Buffalo Prenatal-Perinatal Network, Inc. His past experiences and expertise has involved helping community members (e.g. low-income and vulnerable individuals) achieve equitable opportunities in affordable housing, support services and mental health. Mr. Johnson’s professional roles have involved providing community-based support services to underserved and marginalized communities (e.g. communities of color and low socioeconomic status). For over three years, Mr. Johnson has provided Individualized Residential Alternative (IRA) Services to individuals with developmental disabilities (DD) and mental health diagnoses, including autism, in community-based residential settings. This position involved empowering individuals in directing the course of their own lives by building skills and living as independently as possible. In collaboration with IRA staff, Antoine assisted in providing care through the teaching and development of respectful behaviors with teens and young adults with mental health impairments and cognitive delays. This experience provided Antoine the opportunity to help improve the quality life and overall well-being of youth and young adults with DD.
In addition, Antoine helped to improve low-income communities by providing service-enriched affordable housing opportunities for individuals and families who were considered to be homeless or living inhabitable housing situations. Antoine managed the Buffalo Rapid Rehousing Program. He assisted families experiencing homelessness and who needed temporary assistance in order to obtain and retain housing by providing short-term rental assistance and case management services. Mr. Johnson conducted meetings that focused on housing stabilization, linking program participants to community resources and mainstream benefits, and helped clients develop a plan for preventing future housing instability. He is currently a Fatherhood Practitioner whose work involves providing interventions and services to low-income fathers and families in communities throughout Western New York. The focus of his work is to help close the gap in disparity of services available to men and fathers and reduce the number of father absenteeism homes for the one in four children who grow up without a father.
Mr. Johnson is culturally competent and ethically indigenous to the communities he has served. His experience and expertise has prepared him to undertake action-oriented, policy-relevant, and community-engaged activities in order to drive improvements in the health of communities he serves.
Positions & Honors
Research Support and/or Scholastic Performance
Completed Projects
Position title: Program Manager, 11/2017 – Current
Buffalo Prenatal-Perinatal Network, Inc.
Position title: Direct Support Professional, 05/2015 – 10/2018
Hillside Family Services
Position title: Housing Case Manager, 05/2016 – 10/2017
Catholic Charities of Buffalo
Position title: Administrative assistant, 12/14 – 05/15
University at Buffalo, Coral P. Maloney College, EOP
John R. Oishei Foundation (Johnson) 6/19/2019 – 5/20/2021
Buffalo Prenatal-Perinatal Network, Inc. Responsible Fatherhood Initiative
The objective of this program is to reduce the disparity of services and interventions available to fathers and families. It focuses on fathers and families from low to moderate income households in the Western New York region. It promotes nurturing practices among male-identified program participants.
Role: PI
Mother Cabrini Health Foundation (Johnson)
1/01/2020 – 12/31/2020
Buffalo Prenatal-Perinatal Network, Inc. Responsible Fatherhood Initiative
The objective of this project is to reduce the disparity of programs and support services to males and fathers in Buffalo and expand services throughout Western New York to strengthen father-child engagement. Promoting nurturing practices among male-identified program participants.
Role: PI
Health Foundation of Western and Central New York (Johnson) 10/31/2020 – 12/31/2022
Father involvement in children reaching developmental milestones
The objective of this project is to increase father engagement among predominantly low-income community fathers of color with children aged 0 thru 5 years old in the city of Buffalo; the goal is to increase the number of children who are developmentally and academically prepared before reaching pre-k and kindergarten.
Role: PI
First Niagara Foundation in Partnership with Key Bank (Johnson) 9/19/2018 – 1/30/2021
Mentoring Fathers Project
The objective of this funding opportunity is to provide mentoring services to young expectant fathers and young fathers between the ages of 18 – 26 to promote responsible parenting and father self-efficacy through community partnerships and members acting as mentors.
Role: PI
Health Foundation of Western and Central New York (Brown) 4/1/2018 – 7/1/2019
Responsible Fatherhood Initiative
The objective of this funding opportunity is to provide training and support to program staff and participants to further expand the fatherhood program services within the agency and community.
Role: Co-I