Verein family-help

What Verein family-help does

Verein family-help is a Swiss nonprofit association established in January 2017 that delivers psychosocial therapeutic services to refugee children, adolescents, and families as well as to families in crisis in the Canton of Zürich. The organization operates two core programs: 'aacho', which provides trauma-informed therapy and stabilization for newly arrived refugees, and 'baby-hilfe zürich', which delivers early-intervention support for families experiencing psychosocial stress during pregnancy and early parenthood (the baby-hilfe program has roots in a predecessor entity dating to December 2015). Services are delivered through an interdisciplinary team of approximately 25-30 staff, including FMH-credentialed psychotherapists, midwives, and social workers, based at Arterstrasse 24, 8032 Zürich.

The funding model is a multi-stream nonprofit structure: cantonal and municipal government grants (notably Kanton Zürich and Stadt Zürich), foundation and individual donor contributions, professional training fees from institutional partners, and ancillary earned income. There is no traditional sales motion — demand is generated through referral relationships with social services, hospitals, pediatricians, midwives, and asylum coordination bodies. Governance is led by three co-founders — Sandra Rumpel, Antonia Stulz-Koller, and Anna von Ditfurth — supplemented by recent 2024 senior hires in fundraising/communication and finance/HR/administration, indicating professionalization of the back office.

The organization's recent strategic posture combines operational scaling with public advocacy: it has expanded headcount, formalized fundraising capacity, secured tax-exempt status (2018), and co-authored policy interventions such as the November 2025 Open Letter on emergency aid for refugee children. Its competitive position rests on specialized clinical talent, institutional referral networks, and a research partnership with ZHAW for scientific monitoring — assets that are difficult to replicate but do not insulate the organization from concentration risk in its public-sector funding base.

Name

Verein family-help

Legal name

Verein family-help

Website

https://family-help.ch

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Verein family-help is a Zürich-based Swiss nonprofit delivering psychosocial therapeutic services to refugee children, adolescents, and families in crisis, operating the 'aacho' and 'baby-hilfe zürich' programs through a team of approximately 25-30 clinicians.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mental Health and Psychosocial Services

NAICS

Other Individual and Family Services (62419), Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300), Services-Health Services (8000)

akta.pro primary industry

Family & Parenting Support Services (BPAGAEAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Family Coaching, Parent-Mediated & Home Visiting EI Services (EDACAFAJ), Family Engagement & Caregiver Support Programs (SEL/Mental Health) (EDAKAMAK)

Keywords

• Psychosocial therapy services
• Refugee mental health support
• Child youth psychotherapy
• Trauma-informed counseling
• Family therapeutic programs

Headquarters

HQ city

Zürich

HQ country

Switzerland

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Public funding and government grants: Receives support from government bodies including Kanton Zürich Amt für Jugend und Berufsberatung and Stadt Zürich Sozialdepartement.
2. Foundation and donor support: Funded by multiple foundations and donors including Albert Jenny-Stiftung, Anna Maria und Karl Kramer-Stiftung, Christian Bachschuster Stiftung, and many others listed on their donations page. Also accepts individual donations via TWINT and bank transfer.
3. Professional training fees: Generates revenue through professional development courses for practitioners, with courses priced at CHF 1,050 for the full training program, CHF 300 per individual course, and CHF 720 for introduction courses.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Verein family-help delivers psychosocial therapeutic services — including individual psychotherapy, group therapy, parent-child counseling, and a protected therapeutic-pedagogical day program — to refugee children, youth and families, and to pregnant women and families with infants/toddlers (0–6 years) in crisis. The organization also provides continuing-education training and supervision for professionals working with these populations, and publishes therapeutic concepts and academic materials. All services are anchored in an interdisciplinary model combining psychodynamic, systemic, body-oriented, play, expressive, and hypnotherapeutic approaches with psychomotorics and art therapy.

Product overview

Verein family-help is a non-profit charitable organization offering psychosocial support services through two main programs: 'aacho' for refugee children, youth and families (including mother-child groups, unaccompanied minor groups, and day structured therapy), and 'baby-hilfe zürich' for pregnant women and families with young children in crisis. The organization also provides professional training programs and publications for practitioners working with vulnerable populations. All services focus on trauma-informed, developmentally-oriented therapeutic approaches.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• "aacho" Mutter-Kind-Gruppen (aacho Mother-Child Groups) Group therapy for mothers and their children with refugee experience, providing psychosocial support and mother-child bonding assistance through culturally-sensitive, attachment-oriented, and trauma-specific therapeutic methods.
• "aacho" Kinder und Jugendliche (UMA-Gruppen) Group and individual therapy for (unaccompanied) refugee minors, offering trauma processing and resilience building support.
• "aacho am Tag" (Therapeutic-Pedagogical Day Structure)

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduction in trauma symptoms and improvement in psychological health for refugee children, youth, and families
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ZHAW (Zurich University of Applied Sciences) - Institute of Applied PsychologycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerScientific monitoring of therapeutic programs by the Clinical Psychology and Health Psychology research group. ZHAW evaluates preventive and therapeutic effectiveness of group programs, providing evidence for future health and integration policy decisions.
• KJPP (Children and Youth Psychiatry Service)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmbulatory and stationary psychiatric-psychological institutions collaboration for comprehensive care of refugee populations.
• AFK - Ambulatory for Torture and War Victims (PUK)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSpecialized care for torture and war victims from refugee backgrounds.
• AOZ (AOZ)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration withAOZ for refugee support services in Zürich.
• ORS (Organisation für Rumänienhilfe)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAsylum coordination services.
• Save the Children SwitzerlandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational organization for child protection collaborating on refugee children's rights.
• Kinderanwaltschaft Schweiz (Swiss Child Advocacy)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLegal advocacy for children's rights.
• FreiplatzaktionminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFree therapy placement initiative for refugee children.
• Prof. Dr. Marianne Leuzinger-BohlebercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSenior scientist from Sigmund-Freud-Institut Frankfurt, contributed to development of 'Erste Schritte' integration project and aacho program development.
• Dr. phil. Ursula Hauser GriecocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPsychoanalyst and psychodramatist providing supervision and international therapy projects guidance.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Save the Children Switzerland: National affiliate of Save the Children operating child-protection and education programs for refugee and disadvantaged children in Switzerland. Existing collaboration partner and a high-similarity peer in terms of beneficiary profile and child-rights focus.
• Schweizerisches Rotes Kreuz (Swiss Red Cross): National humanitarian organization providing broad social, health, and integration services across Switzerland. Operates at significantly greater scale than Verein family-help but lacks the same trauma-specialized, child-focused therapeutic depth.
• Pro Infirmis: Swiss service organization for people with disabilities and their families, providing counseling, advocacy, and inclusion services. Comparable non-clinical psychosocial support orientation and similar Cantonal funding profile to Verein family-help.
• Caritas Schweiz: Swiss arm of Caritas International, providing social services, asylum support, and family programs nationally. Comparable mission profile (vulnerable populations, family support) but a much larger and more diversified service portfolio.
• SOS Kinderdorf Schweiz: Swiss arm of SOS Children's Villages providing residential care, family strengthening, and child protection services. Shares Verein family-help's focus on vulnerable children and families but operates primarily through residential rather than outpatient therapeutic models.
• Heilsarmee Schweiz (Salvation Army Switzerland): Swiss branch of the Salvation Army delivering social services to vulnerable populations including refugees, families in crisis, and those in need of psychosocial support. Comparable nonprofit funding structure and broad service portfolio, with substantially larger institutional reach.

Regional players

• Pro Mente Sana: Swiss advocacy and service organization focused on mental health, providing counseling and legal advice. Comparable in clinical/social-service hybrid model, with broader (non-refugee-specific) mental health reach and Pan-Swiss presence.

Direct peers

• AFK Zürich - Ambulatory for Torture and War Victims: Zürich-based ambulatory clinic specialized in treating survivors of torture and war — directly overlapping with Verein family-help's refugee-trauma population. Co-treatment partner and the closest clinical peer in the Zürich ecosystem.
• Freiplatzaktion: Swiss foundation funding free therapy placements for refugee children. Functions as both a funding partner and a peer organization targeting the same beneficiary population via a complementary service-delivery mechanism.
• AOZ (Asylorganisation Zürich): AOZ is the primary Cantonal-level refugee services provider in Zürich, offering accommodation, social work, and integration support. Verein family-help's therapeutic services sit as a specialized referral layer on top of AOZ's broader refugee support infrastructure, making it both a partner and the most direct operational peer.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/verein-family-help

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

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 Verein family-help