FLINT, Mich. — When Hunter O’Connor opened Hive Holistic Center, her vision wasn’t just to start a business — it was to create a sanctuary.
Tucked two doors down from the Capitol Theatre and steps from Flint’s main bus station, the Hive serves as a gathering space for sober, inclusive healing, connection and play.
“There’s a huge need for healing in Flint, O’Connor said. “No one is confused about that. We deserve spaces where we feel safe, where we can breathe, and where we can connect with others.”
O’Connor, 32, grew up in Flint and Davison. After years of travel and study in the U.S. and Central America, she found her way back home. “Flint is just home,” she said. “It has a special heart, a special magic and a real sense of community.”
Her path spans 16 years of studying Reiki, holistic healing, energy work and other intuitive practices. It was also forged through hardship: a car accident that broke her spine, the sudden loss of her father and a battle with cervical cancer. Those experiences, she says, shaped her vision for a place where others could heal.
She defines holistic healing as caring for the whole person—mind, body, spirit and emotions—rather than chasing symptoms. “I believe the root of illness often begins in our energy or emotional body. If it isn’t addressed, it manifests physically,” she explained. Her approach blends ancient, earth-based practices with modern neuroscience.
The Hive began in 2024 in a small rented space on the outskirts of Flint. With no investors and little more than their own savings and labor, O’Connor and her husband, Alberto “Berto” Bercich transformed the building themselves.
The Hive relocated to downtown Flint in January 2025 with a community celebration featuring drumming, poetry and dance. It now offers weekly sound baths, men’s and women’s groups, couples’ sessions, and special events such as cacao ceremonies and “Conscious Clubbing,” a sober take on nightlife.
Bercich, who has a background in CBD wellness and breathwork, complements O’Connor’s work by focusing on nervous system regulation and the science of healing. Together, they balance masculine and feminine approaches to wellness.
Inclusivity is central to the Hive’s mission. After years of working in healing centers and yoga studios across Michigan, O’Connor noticed these spaces often lacked diversity, particularly in terms of socioeconomic representation.
“I’ve had people ask me, why not open this in Farmington or Birmingham?” she said. “My answer is always that my purpose here is to help people who need it and who don’t have access, and who have been afraid to step into other spaces. A part of why I did this is so that people like me, people like us, can see that there is someone like them running a space like this.”
Community response has been strong, with visitor reviews describing the space as healing, transformative, welcoming and for some, “life-changing.”
The center also caught the attention of Hurley Medical Center, which invited O’Connor and Bercich to lead sessions in its youth psychiatric unit. Twice a week, they now work with teens in crisis. She describes the opportunity to share their services in a hospital setting as “really massive.”
O’Connor hopes to expand the Hive’s offerings and collaborate with more local healers.
“I didn’t create the Hive to be the only one doing this work,” she said. “Healing belongs to all of us.”
Hive Holistic Center is located at 140 E. Second St., Flint, MI 48502, inside 810hm Massage & Co. For more information, call 810-922-2199 or visit hiveholisticcenter.com.