Hi everyone, I’m Helen Millar and I help run the Auckland Crohn’s and Colitis Support Group (CCSG) alongside Bobbi Laing and our committee.

I was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease in 2006 after suffering symptoms for two years. I lived in the UK and Canada working in the music industry before Crohn’s brought me back to NZ. Thankfully I discovered the support group out of pure desperation around 2012 and have been involved ever since. Bobbi is a biomedical researcher at the University of Auckland in the School of Nursing. Her areas of research include IBD, IBS and nutrition. She joined CCSG six years ago.

The legend goes that CCSG was founded in the 1980s by a group of IBD patients who met in hospital while recovering from related procedures. It was the first IBD support group to be formed in New Zealand. We hold several meetings per year at a centrally located venue in Remuera, and in the past have featured speakers on topics as diverse as nutrition, laughter yoga, qigong mediation, bowel surgery, and health psychology. We also hold smaller social events including café catch-ups and 10-pin bowling. We have participated in and fundraised through the Auckland Marathon, Round the Bays, and the New Zealand Society of Gastroenterology Fun Run.

Covid-19 has made things very tricky in Auckland with so many lockdowns, so we have unfortunately been unable to hold a public meeting for some time. However we do have an active Facebook page and publish newsletters. We are also looking into trialling Zoom meetings too. We have an extensive collection of resources available for loan including IBD related books, magazines, and DVDs.

Find us on Facebook at Crohn’s and Colitis Auckland, or email us at auckland@crohnsandcolitis.org.nz if you have any questions, need support, or would like to join our mailing list for updates.