Designing Better Waitlist Experiences in Health and Mental Health Services

Dawnfield is a capstone & grad project focused on improving the waitlist experience for youth and young adults seeking mental health support. Many young people wait weeks or months before receiving care, often without guidance, emotional support, or clear communication. Dawnfield explores how peer support, wellness activities, and professional oversight can create a safer, more connected, and more human experience during this period.

Youth mental health services in BC face long wait times.
During this waiting period:

How might we create meaningful support before formal therapy begins?

This project grew from a place of empathy and lived experience. I’ve seen what it feels like to wait for support, to feel unsure, overwhelmed, or alone during a time when help is desperately needed. Those memories stayed with me, and they shaped my belief that no one should feel unsupported while waiting for care. Dawnfield is my attempt to transform that difficult space into something more hopeful, where youth are guided, heard, and understood. Designing this project is not just academic work for me; it is a deeply personal commitment to helping others feel less alone.