Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe gGmbH

What Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe gGmbH does

Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe gGmbH is a non-profit social services organization headquartered in Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg, operating across the Reutlingen and Tübingen districts. Founded in 1971 by Karola Bloch in Tübingen and reorganized in 2018 as a gGmbH wholly owned by the Karola-Bloch-Stiftung, the organization employs approximately 120 staff organized into six specialist departments. Its service portfolio spans youth social work (including five Mobile Jugendarbeit locations), offender rehabilitation, victim-offender mediation, school accompaniment (Schulbegleitung), housing support (including a Housing First pilot in partnership with Vector Stiftung and WohnWerk Tübingen-Reutlingen), conflict mediation, and refugee support. The organization is historically credited with pioneering victim-offender mediation (Täter-Opfer-Ausgleich) in Germany beginning in 1985 and has contributed input to federal juvenile justice reforms.

The underlying operational model is human-delivered professional casework and counseling, supported by standard administrative case-management systems. There are no proprietary technology platforms or AI/ML components evident in the available information; service quality depends on specialized staff expertise accumulated over 50+ years and formal credentials in mediation, youth welfare, and social work.

The business model is that of a regulated German welfare provider: revenue is generated primarily through statutory cost reimbursements and contracts under SGB VIII (children and youth welfare) and SGB XII (social assistance), supplemented by donations and project-specific grants from foundations (Vector Stiftung) and the Baden-Württemberg state ministry. Customers are effectively public-sector payors — Jugendämter, courts, schools, and state/local welfare authorities — with end beneficiaries being vulnerable individuals and families in the Tübingen/Reutlingen catchment area. The 2023–2025 rollout of a protection and prevention concept under the federal Child and Youth Welfare Strengthening Act (KJSG), with two dedicated protection officers appointed in 2025, reflects ongoing adaptation of the service mix to evolving regulatory mandates.

Name

Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe gGmbH

Legal name

Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe gGmbH

Website

https://hilfezurselbsthilfe.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1971

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe gGmbH is a non-profit social services provider in Reutlingen, Baden-Württemberg, employing ~120 staff across six specialist departments to deliver youth social work, offender rehabilitation, victim-offender mediation, school accompaniment, housing support, and refugee services to vulnerable populations in the Tübingen/Reutlingen districts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Welfare and Youth Services

NAICS

Child and Youth Services (62411), Other Individual and Family Services (624190), Community Housing Services (62422)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Youth Housing, Foster Care & Wraparound Support (Education-Linked) Nonprofits (BPAGADAO)

akta.pro secondary industries

Housing Assistance & Homeless Services (BPAGAEAB), Wraparound Student Support & Case Management Services (At-Risk K–12) (EDAJAEAJ)

Keywords

• Youth social services
• Offender rehabilitation
• Victim-offender mediation
• School accompaniment
• Community youth work

Headquarters

HQ city

Reutlingen

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices8 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Contracts and Public Funding: Core funding derived from contracts with youth welfare offices (Jugendamt), social services, and courts for youth and family services, offender rehabilitation, and conflict resolution programs. Services are commissioned under SGB VIII (Children and Youth Welfare Act) and SGB XII (Social Assistance Act).
2. Donations and Charitable Contributions: Receives monetary and material donations as a recognized charitable organization. Tax-deductible donation receipts issued to donors.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe gGmbH is a non-profit social services network operating eight core program areas: Flexible Hilfen zur Erziehung (ambulatory family and youth support), Jugendsozialarbeit/Mobile Jugendarbeit (community-based outreach youth work), Housing First Reutlingen (housing for homeless youth), Schulbegleitung (school accompaniment for children with special needs), Straffälligenhilfe (offender support and aftercare), Klärungs- und Konflikthilfe (victim-offender mediation and conflict resolution), Hilfen für junge Geflüchtete (services for young refugees), and the Worldcafé (open drop-in consultation). Services are commissioned by youth welfare offices, courts, and social services under SGB VIII and SGB XII, and are delivered free of charge at the point of use across the Reutlingen and Tübingen districts.

Product overview

Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe gGmbH is a network of social assistance services offering seven main program areas: Flexible Hilfen zur Erziehung (family and youth support), Jugendsozialarbeit/Mobile Jugendarbeit (outreach youth work), Housing First Reutlingen (housing support for homeless youth), Schulbegleitung (school accompaniment), Straffälligenhilfe (offender support), Klärungs- und Konflikthilfe (conflict mediation), and Hilfen für junge Geflüchtete (support for young refugees). The organization also operates the Worldcafé drop-in center, and its work spans youth welfare, criminal justice diversion, housing, and social integration. The company is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Karola-Bloch-Stiftung and operates its subsidiary GIBA gGmbH (metal vocational training) and participates in the WohnWerk e.V. housing agency partnership. Founded in 1971, the organization has grown to serve the Reutlingen and Tübingen districts with over 120 employees.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Flexible Hilfen zur Erziehung Ambulatory support services for families and young people in the Reutlingen district, including social-pedagogical family assistance, educational companionship, social group work, and supervised youth living arrangements, delivered under the German Child and Youth Welfare Act (SGB VIII).
• Jugendsozialarbeit / Mobile Jugendarbeit Community-oriented youth social work active in five locations across the Reutlingen and Tübingen districts, combining streetwork, individual case assistance, group and clique support, and community development to counter the social exclusion of young people aged approximately 12-27.
• Housing First Reutlingen A pilot project providing young people up to age 27 experiencing housing insecurity with their own apartment under their own tenancy agreement, combined with voluntary social-pedagogical counseling and support. Addresses over 1,000 homeless individuals in Reutlingen.
• Schulbegleitung School accompaniment services for children and adolescents with special needs in the Reutlingen district, enabling regular and successful school attendance. Financed under Section 53 SGB XII and Section 35a SGB VIII.
• Straffälligenhilfe Offender support and rehabilitation services including outreach counseling in prisons, release preparation, the Chance aftercare project, flexible intensive support in housing projects, outpatient supported housing, youth criminal justice programs (victim-offender mediation, Betreuungsweisungen, and anti-violence training), and the Eltern-Kind-Projekt Chance for families of incarcerated parents.
• Klärungs- und Konflikthilfe Conflict resolution and mediation services for victims and perpetrators of crime. Includes the Handschlag project offering victim-offender mediation, the Auszeit project for criminal offense processing, anti-violence training (AGT), and the Social Skills Course Respekt (STK).
• Hilfen für junge Geflüchtete Support services for unaccompanied minor refugees and young refugees, providing supervised youth housing (Betreutes Jugendwohnen) and educational companionship (Erziehungsbeistandschaft) to help young people build a life in Germany.
• Worldcafé A drop-in meeting point and open consultation service for young adults aged 18+, held weekly at Kaiserstr. 31, Reutlingen. Free, anonymous, and confidential; no registration required. Provides support with employment, training, paperwork, housing, finances, and leisure activities.

Quantifiable outcome

• Pioneered victim-offender mediation in Germany, contributing to major legislative reforms

Named customers3 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major, flagship and minor.

• WohnWerk Tübingen-ReutlingencoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2020Social housing agency established as a non-profit association to acquire and provide affordable housing for people with special support needs. Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe participates as member organization; WohnWerk coordinates housing acquisition for 11 member institutions.
• Landesnetzwerk Straffälligenhilfe Baden-WürttembergmajorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018Statewide network for offender support that coordinates the Nachsorgeprojekt Chance and Eltern-Kind-Projekt Chance across Baden-Württemberg. Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe serves as regional contact point.
• Autismus Verstehen e.V.majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Partnership for school accompaniment services providing specialized support for children with autism or ADHD. Partners provide expertise, training, and family support services.
• Karola-Bloch-Stiftung Hilfe zur SelbsthilfeflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2011Parent foundation that holds 100% of shares in Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe gGmbH. Founded 2011 to ensure long-term sustainability. Also encompasses the Kompass Institute for further education and practice consulting in conflict mediation and violence prevention.
• GIBA gGmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2005Former in-house metal training workshop spun off in 2005, now an independent subsidiary providing vocational training for disadvantaged youth. Largest and most modern metal training operation in Rottenburg area with above-average job placement rates.
• Cooperative and Private Housing ProvidersminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHousing First partners with housing cooperatives, public housing companies, and private landlords to acquire affordable housing units for program participants.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Arbeiterwohlfahrt (AWO): Major German welfare organization providing youth social work, family assistance, offender rehabilitation, and refugee support. Active in Baden-Württemberg and competes for the same municipal and state welfare contracts as HzS.
• Diakonie Deutschland: Protestant welfare confederation providing social services including youth welfare, offender rehabilitation, and family support. Operates comparable services under SGB VIII/XII with similar funding structures across German regions.
• Caritas Deutschland: Germany's largest Catholic welfare confederation providing youth welfare, family support, offender aid, and refugee services across all districts. Directly competes with HzS for the same SGB VIII/XII government contracts at municipal and state level.
• Malteser Deutschland: Major German welfare organization providing youth services, refugee support, and social assistance including some offender rehabilitation adjacent services. Operates at much larger scale but with overlapping programs in community-based social support.
• Internationaler Bund (IB): Large German confederation for youth welfare, education, and offender reintegration services operating nationwide. Comparable to HzS in offering youth social work, offender rehabilitation, and refugee support, but at substantially larger scale and geographic reach.
• Der Paritätische Baden-Württemberg: Umbrella organization for nonprofit social services in Baden-Württemberg, with member organizations providing similar youth welfare, family support, and offender rehabilitation services. HzS operates within this broader nonprofit landscape and competes for similar funding.

Direct peers

• SOS-Kinderdorf: Specialized nonprofit providing residential youth care, family support, and youth welfare services across Germany. Comparable to HzS in offering supervised youth housing (Betreutes Jugendwohnen), family support, and education-linked wraparound services for at-risk youth.
• IN VIA Katholische Mädchensozialarbeit: Catholic welfare organization focused on youth social work, migration support, and education-linked services for disadvantaged young people. Comparable to HzS's Hilfen für junge Geflüchtete and Jugendsozialarbeit programs.
• Stiftung Neue Verantwortung (offender aid segment): Specialized German organizations providing offender rehabilitation, victim-offender mediation, and aftercare services to reduce recidivism. Comparable to HzS's Straffälligenhilfe and Klärungs- und Konflikthilfe programs operating under similar legal frameworks.

Regional players

• Evangelische Gesellschaft (eva) Stuttgart: Baden-Württemberg-based social services provider offering youth welfare, housing support for vulnerable populations, and offender rehabilitation. Adjacent to HzS in offering housing-first type services and comparable SGB VIII/XII-funded programs in the same region.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hilfe-zur-selbsthilfe-ggmbh

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Hilfe zur Selbsthilfe gGmbH