At Wellbeing Initiative, peers support peers.
Whether you are attending their SMART (Self Management and Recovery Training) groups, WRAP (Wellness Recovery Action Plan) or an Open Recovery group, you can find free support from people who have similar experiences as you.
Wellbeing Initiative, based out of Lincoln, is a nonprofit that has been offering support groups since 2023 for people healing from mental health issues, addiction, and more.
Outside of Lincoln, they also offer their services in Omaha, Nebraska City, York and Falls City, and they branched out into Seward in May.
Everyone working at Wellbeing has some sort of personal experience with the issues being discussed in their peer support groups.
“You’re connecting with peers that have been there, instead of just somebody that has read about what the book says to do,” Marci Fehlhafer, Lead Wellness Community Navigator, said.
For Fehlhafer, her journey to working with Wellbeing started when she received a cancer diagnosis.
“I really just had a passion, and I started a cancer support group because that’s what I needed,” Fehlhafer said.
Like the rest of the employees at Wellbeing, Fehlhafer became a certified peer support specialist. She said this is not the same thing as becoming a counselor, but peer support specialists have a unique strength in leading support groups because they are able to relate to the experiences of those in the group.
“We can share some tools that have helped us,” Fehlhafer said.
She explained that support group meetings can be structured in whatever way benefits attendees.
“I don’t come with an agenda. I come and whoever joins, joins the group,” Fehlhafer said.
“We do a check-in and if someone explains something that they’re struggling with, we open it up to see if someone also has struggled with that and what tools may have helped that, because my pathway to recovery can look completely different from the person sitting next to me.”
In Seward, Wellbeing Initiative meets Tuesdays in the Civic Center, with SMART Recovery at 9:30 a.m.–10:30 a.m.; Open Recovery and/or 8 Dimensions of Wellness at 11 a.m.–12 p.m.; and Self-Advocacy and/or WRAP at 1 p.m.–2 p.m.
If none of these times work for someone who wishes to participate, Fehlhafer encourages anyone to reach out to her at (531) 249-2196 to talk about other times that might work to meet with her.
“I feel like everyone’s recovering from something. Whether it be something you want to talk about or if you just want to come and listen, there’s no requirement to talk, there’s no requirement to participate,” Fehlhafer said. “If it’s not for you, you don’t have to come back. There’s no monthly fee, there’s nothing like that.”
During Seward County Gives 2025, Wellbeing Initiative raised $275 for supplies that support groups will use. At the time, Wellbeing had not officially started offering its services in Seward, and kept their campaign small since they were unable to offer statistics of how many people in the area they served.
Fehlhafer said she and her colleagues are excited to participate in Seward County Gives again next year, once the Seward branch is more established.
“We will definitely participate in Seward County Gives again. It’s great, not only for us, but for us to connect to other nonprofits,” Fehlhafer said.
To learn more about Wellbeing Initiative and the services they offer, contact Fehlhafer at (531) 249-2196, or visit their website at wellbeinginitiatives.org.
“Everybody’s recovering from something,” Fehlhafer said. “There should be no stigma around recovery, we want these groups to be a safe place.”
