Graphic Recording for Casa de Amparo: Visualizing a Better Path for Youth in Crisis

At the end of January, I had the privilege of supporting a deeply meaningful gathering hosted by Casa de Amparo and Ohana Healthcare Partners—a human-centered design session focused on shaping a new Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility for adolescents in San Diego County.

This project represents something rare: the chance to design a youth mental health space from the ground up. With a new grant in place, the organizers brought together a wide range of voices—foster youth, program staff, healthcare providers, first responders, law enforcement, and community partners—to explore what true, compassionate support for young people in crisis should look like.

My role was to listen closely and visually synthesize the conversations as they unfolded. Throughout the day, I captured themes, insights, lived experiences, and aspirations, turning them into visual maps that helped participants see connections, clarify challenges, and align around shared ideas.

What made this session so powerful wasn’t just the expertise in the room—it was the honesty. People spoke about gaps in the current system, the realities young people face, and the opportunities to build something far more supportive, trauma-informed, and healing. As voices layered together, the visuals became a communal reference point: a way to hold complexity, spark understanding, and anchor the group’s vision.

By the end of the day, you could feel a shift. What began as a discussion about a facility had grown into a collective commitment to reimagining how our community shows up for youth in crisis.

I left inspired—grateful to have contributed to a process rooted in empathy, collaboration, and the belief that we can design systems that truly care for the people they serve.

If your organization is embarking on a project that demands clarity, collaboration, or deep listening, visual facilitation can help bring the work to life. Let’s build something meaningful together.