Advocacy - Katie McNamee

Sharing My Story

Advocacy Efforts

Learn about my history with Crohn's disease and mental health issues.

Engage with advocacy resources to help change policy.

Read nonfiction short stories & blogs about advocacy issues and more.

Creating
with Katie

Introducing Creating with Katie, a newsletter focused on writing, publishing, creative works, advocacy efforts, and more.

For more on marketing, connect with Katie’s business, Elevate Online!

My history with

Crohn's disease & mental health.

I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease at 12 years old. Since then, I’ve faced the many ups and downs of living with this impactful chronic illness: dealing with doctors and insurance, gauntlets of tests, gut-wrenching symptoms and medication side-effects, years of remission and wellness thanks to that same medication.

Along this winding journey, I’ve been diagnosed and treated for anxiety and depression. There’s a complex relationship between my physical health and mental health, and I’m still working through the ways one can impact the other, especially since I spent most of 2024 ill.

Over the years, I’ve learned having a disease like Crohn’s can be incredibly isolating—but it doesn’t have it be. Thanks to support from my family, friends, and the community I’ve found within the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation, I’m blessed to know I have a robust support system advocating and aiding me along this journey.

And now you’re here too.

If you’re interested in how I raise awareness and support advocacy efforts, here are some of the main ways I participate in advocacy efforts:

Advocacy Resources

Become an Advocacy Partner volunteer for the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation.

I get the majority of my information about Crohn’s & UC advocacy efforts straight from the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. They frequently offer guided activities to help impact government policy at the national and state levels.

You can click here to sign-up to become an advocacy volunteer, and join in on opportunities to support patients with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.

For more information about the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation’s advocacy work and other ways to get involved, click here.