Refugio

What Refugio does

Refugio e.V. is a registered German nonprofit (eingetragener Verein, VR 4617, Bremen) founded in 1989 that operates a free, multilingual psychosocial and psychotherapeutic treatment center for refugees and torture survivors. It serves roughly 500 clients per year drawn from over 40 countries of origin, with a 2025 tally of 507 total clients (207 new registrations) and a service mix weighted toward initial consultations/clearing (36%), therapies (39%), diagnostics (12%), and multimodal offerings (13%). Core service comprises Psychosoziale Beratung (multilingual psychosocial counseling) and Psychotherapeutische Behandlung (psychotherapy), supported by a multimodal integrative treatment approach combining psychotherapy with art therapy, music therapy, movement/body therapy, and sports/creative offerings. The organization runs a Sprachmittlungspool of 58 qualified interpreters covering 25+ languages, accessible via the bhaasha.ch digital booking platform to cooperating healthcare providers free of charge.

The business model is a fully donation- and grant-funded nonprofit with no client fees. Revenue is derived from institutional grants (AMIF, Bremer Senatorin für Soziales, EU, BMFSFJ, Deutsche Fernsehlotterie, UNHCR, Magistrat Bremerhaven), corporate and foundation sponsorships (Waldemar Koch Stiftung, Lavatera Stiftung, Sparda Bank, Bremer Aufbau Bank, Blaumeier, Bremische Evangelische Kirche, and others), private donations processed via betterplace.org and direct bank transfer, and an endowment foundation (Stiftung Refugio, est. 2014-02). Go-to-market is community-led: structured telephone intake four times per year, multilingual website (10+ languages), social media, and referrals through the BAfF network of 50+ psychosocial centers. Distribution is regional (state of Bremen only) across two physical locations — Bremen (Außer der Schleifmühle 53) and Bremerhaven (Kurfürstenstr. 4) — with an active project pipeline (HOME, SAVE, she draws, Refugio kickt weiter, Werkstatt für Kinder, bedarfs.gerecht) executed with research partners BIPS, Save the Children, XENION, and PSZ Sachsen-Anhalt.

Name

Refugio

Legal name

REFUGIO – Psychosoziales Zentrum für ausländische Flüchtlinge e.V.

Website

https://refugio-bremen.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1989

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Refugio is a Bremen-based nonprofit founded in 1989 that provides free, multilingual psychosocial counseling and psychotherapy to refugees and torture survivors across two locations in Bremen and Bremerhaven, supported by a 58-interpreter language pool and funded entirely by donations, grants, and an endowment foundation.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Refugee Psychosocial and Mental Health Services

NAICS

Outpatient Mental Health and Substance Abuse Centers (621420), Services for the Elderly and Persons with Disabilities (62412)

SIC

Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Peer Support, Recovery Coaching & Sober Living Services (HLAFACAN)

akta.pro secondary industries

Substance Use Recovery & Harm Reduction Support Services (BPAGAEAO), Refugee & Humanitarian Newcomer Orientation (Resettlement Support) (EDAAADAI)

Keywords

• Refugee mental health
• Psychosocial counseling
• Trauma therapy services
• Multilingual psychotherapy
• Torture survivor treatment

Headquarters

HQ city

Bremen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Donations (Private Individuals): Individual donations from private supporters, including birthday donations, direct bank transfers, and online donations via the betterplace.org platform. Donation receipts are issued for amounts over €300; simplified proof is accepted for smaller amounts.
2. Institutional Grants and Public Funding: Over 10% of 2024 annual revenue came from the Asyl-, Migrations- und Integrationsfonds (AMIF) and the Bremer Senatorin für Soziales. Additional public funding from the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs (BMFSFJ), EU (Asylum and Migration Fund, EU co-financing), Deutsche Fernsehlotterie (German TV Lottery), UNHCR, Senatorin für Gesundheit Bremen, Magistrat Bremerhaven, and other foundations. The organization is a registered nonprofit with tax-exempt status.
3. Corporate and Foundation Sponsorship: Regular donations from corporations such as Bremer Aufbau Bank GmbH (team 'BABler helfen'), Sparda Bank, Blaumeier artists (image sales), Bremische Evangelische Kirche, and project-specific funding from foundations including Waldemar Koch Stiftung, Stiftung Frauenorte, Lavatera Stiftung, Bremische Kinder und Jugendstiftung, Bündnis für Kinder Stiftung, Otto Diersch Stiftung, Thera Stiftung, and Stiftung Refugio.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Refugio provides free, multilingual psychosocial counseling and psychotherapeutic treatment for refugees, asylum seekers, and torture survivors at its Bremen and Bremerhaven locations. Services include psychosocial counseling, psychotherapy, art therapy, music therapy, movement/body therapy, and sports/creative group programs, delivered in over 10 languages by a multiprofessional team of 29 employees supported by 58 qualified interpreters and contract therapists.

Product overview

Refugio is a psychosocial and therapeutic treatment center for refugees and torture survivors in Bremen and Bremerhaven, operating as a unified center with multimodal service offerings. The core services consist of multilingual psychosocial counseling (Psychosoziale Beratung) and psychotherapeutic treatment (Psychotherapeutische Behandlung), supported by complementary therapies including art therapy (Kunsttherapie), music therapy (Musiktherapie), movement/sports therapy (Bewegung und Sport), and body therapy (Körpertherapie). A language mediation pool (Sprachmittlungspool) enables treatment across language barriers. Professional training programs (Fortbildungen) serve the broader social and healthcare sector. Numerous special projects extend the reach, including she draws for young women, HOME for brief interventions, SAVE for children and youth, Refugio kickt weiter for sports-based support, Werkstatt für Kinder for creative therapy, and bedarfs.gerecht for healthcare system integration. All services are free of charge for clients.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Psychosoziale Beratung (Psychosocial Counseling)

Quantifiable outcome

• 507 total clients served in 2025 (207 new registrations); approximately 500 clients served annually
• +5 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered major, minor and core.

• Somatic Practitioners (Specialist Doctors, GP Practices)majorOthers · 1 January 2024Since autumn 2024, the Sprachmittlungspool has been expanded to include somatic practitioners (specialist doctors, GP practices) for the treatment of particularly vulnerable refugees with torture/violence experiences who are simultaneously in psychotherapeutic or psychiatric treatment. A cooperation agreement is required to access the pool.
• SEGEMI (Hamburg)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2019Professional cooperation on the federal level regarding qualified language interpretation in psychiatric and psychotherapeutic settings.
• Bundesverband Psychosozialer Zentren (formerly BAfF e.V.)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRefugio is a founding member of the Bundesverband Psychosozialer Zentren Versorgung nach Folter, Krieg und Flucht e.V. (formerly BAfF). The organization participates in joint research projects, adheres to BAfF guidelines, contributes to supply reports (Versorgungsberichte), and is part of a national network of over 50 psychosocial centers for refugees and torture victims across Germany.
• Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband BremencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRefugio e.V. is a member of the Paritätischer Wohlfahrtsverband Bremen and is committed to complying with the transparency and compliance standards of BAGFW (Bundesarbeitsgemeinschaft der Freien Wohlfahrtspflege).
• Leibniz-Institut für Präventionsforschung und Epidemiologie (BIPS)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation partner in the HOME project (2025-2028), implementing the WHO-developed Problem Management Plus (PM+) brief intervention for refugees with mild/moderate psychological symptoms. First-time implementation of PM+ in Germany, scientifically accompanied by BIPS and co-financed by the EU. Refugio provides clinical expertise and referral infrastructure for the project.
• Save the Children (Deutschland)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation partner in the SAVE project (2025-2028) focused on strengthening mental health services for refugee children and adolescents in Germany. Project involves quality improvement of counseling and treatment capacities in psychosocial centers and strengthening of child rights and child protection.
• PSZ Sachsen-AnhaltmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation partner in the SAVE project (2025-2028) alongside Save the Children, XENION e.V. Berlin, Refugio Münster, and BAfF, co-financed by the EU.
• XENION e.V. (Berlin)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation partner in the SAVE project (2025-2028) for strengthening mental health of refugee children and adolescents in Germany, co-financed by the EU.
• Refugio MünstermajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCooperation partner in the SAVE project (2025-2028) for mental health of refugee children and adolescents in Germany, co-financed by the EU.
• Refugio MünchenminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJointly developed a questionnaire as an impact measurement instrument for psychosocial and psychotherapeutic offerings for refugees in 2026.
• Blaumeier (Artist Collective, Bremen)minorOthersArtist collective that donated 100 artworks sold in April 2023, raising €15,000 for Refugio. A solidarity gesture against the war in Ukraine and in support of refugees worldwide.

Scale indicators10 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Diakonie Deutschland: Major German Protestant welfare organization delivering social services including refugee counseling and mental health support. Broader incumbent covering refugee populations through a wide service portfolio rather than focused trauma specialization.
• Caritas Germany: Large German welfare organization providing broad social and healthcare services including refugee support. Broader incumbent offering overlapping refugee services as part of a much wider social services portfolio, not specialized in trauma/psychotherapy.

Direct peers

• SEGEMI (Hamburg): Hamburg-based specialized organization for qualified language interpretation in psychiatric and psychotherapeutic settings. Federal-level cooperation partner with Refugio Bremen since 2019 on the Sprachmittlungspool model.
• Refugio Münster: Sister Refugio center in Münster providing psychosocial services for refugees. Co-cooperation partner in the EU SAVE project (2025-2028) with Refugio Bremen for refugee children and adolescents.
• Refugio München: Sister Refugio organization in Munich providing psychosocial counseling and psychotherapy for refugees and torture survivors. Direct peer operating the same model, recently co-developed impact measurement questionnaire with Refugio Bremen.
• XENION e.V. (Berlin): Berlin-based psychosocial center for refugees and torture survivors, also a BAfF member. Direct peer collaborating with Refugio Bremen on the EU SAVE project for child and adolescent mental health.
• PSZ Sachsen-Anhalt: Psychosoziales Zentrum Sachsen-Anhalt provides refugee psychosocial care in eastern Germany. Co-cooperation partner in EU SAVE project and BAfF network member operating the same model as Refugio Bremen.

Emerging players

• Heartland Alliance International: US-based international NGO providing services for refugees and torture survivors including mental health programs. Comparable in mission and trauma-focused methodology though operating in different geographies.

Regional players

• Bundesverband Psychosozialer Zentren (BAfF): National umbrella association of 50+ psychosocial centers for refugees and torture survivors in Germany. Refugio Bremen is a founding member; BAfF coordinates research, advocacy, and supply reports across the network.

Others

• bhaasha.ch: Digital booking platform used by Refugio to coordinate the Sprachmittlungspool interpreter pool. Enabling technology partner rather than a competitor, but adjacent to Refugio's interpreter coordination capability.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/refugiobremen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/refugio-bremen-e-v-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Refugio