There’s no doubt life with IBD brings on financial, social, and emotional pressure. These constant looming stressors can contribute to flares and unpleasant symptoms. This is where Project Crohn’s comes in. It’s a ministry that supports young adults with Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. The main mission of this 501(c)3 non-profit, which launched in 2022, is to offer free access to mental health counseling, financial planning, and 1-1 mentoring. Anyone with IBD ages 18-30 is invited to apply for support programs that are possible thanks to generous donors.
This week on Light’s, Camera, Crohn’s we hear from the creator of Project Crohn’s and learn more about his mission to make a difference in the IBD community.
How Project Crohn’s came to be
Two weeks after John Christian Kuehnert’s 18th birthday, he started to experience intense gastrointestinal pains.
“It culminated in me passing out and being rushed to the hospital. A surgeon performed an emergency bowel resection, after finding a mass the size of a grapefruit on my intestines,” said John. “My surgeon saved my life, and I spent the next week in the hospital recovering. It took another eight months of slow recovery and meeting with gastroenterologists to discover I had Crohn’s disease.”
For the next 7-8 years, during college and after, John dealt with chronic pain that disrupted almost every aspect of his life. In recent years, he’s reached remission, but it took him a long time to get to where he is today.
“In college I started to see a clear connection between highly stressful situations and flare-ups of my disease. Sometimes, the internal pain would start less than a minute after being put in a stressful situation. Humira and 6MP have been crucial for me reaching remission. However, learning how to manage the primary stressors in my life has had a major impact on me reaching remission. I created Project Crohn’s to help others manage their stress and flare-ups more effectively,” said John.
The debilitating and unpredictable pain from IBD can lead to depression and anxiety and cause college students and young adults to have difficulty managing stressful coursework, while trying to juggle the debt from medical bills and college combined. John is determined to help ensure that no college students with IBD in the US face IBD alone. Project Crohn’s was created to provide the support his younger self could have benefited from.
Putting Mental Health and Financial Literacy in the Spotlight
Mental health is the primary focus of Project Crohn’s. The mind-to-gut connection is strong. This year, Project Crohn’s goal is to raise $100,000 to cover program costs for 25 young adults in the United States who are taking on IBD. Every penny from every dollar donated to Project Crohn’s is given to program recipients. By reducing stress and helping those with IBD learn to navigate life while managing their mental and emotional health, Project Crohn’s focuses on providing counseling and therapy services, while also building other helpful resources.
Here’s a look at the three main pillars of support that Project Crohn’s provides:
- Personal mentoring: Ask helpful career-specific questions to help process challenging situations, while putting life’s crossroads in a positive perspective.
- Financial advising: 1:1 virtual meetings to discuss your current and future financial situation, explore options, and suggest changes.
- Counseling therapy: Promotes positive attitudes and develops effective coping strategies.
How to get involved and apply for assistance
You can apply for support directly on the Project Crohn’s website. It takes about 60 seconds. John wants people in our community to apply ASAP. Everyone who is accepted receives a scholarship, but currently, there are a limited number of scholarships available.
“We’re building a world where every young adult with IBD has full and free access to the secondary health resources they need to reach remission,” said John.
Connect with Project Crohn’s
lights camera crohn's 