Freie Schule Essen e. V. – a nonprofit children’s and youth organization
Spatzennest – Children’s Emergency Room in Essen – A safe haven for injured children
The “Spatzennest” emergency care center for children is a facility run by the Essen chapter of the German Child Protection Association. The occupational therapy, speech therapy, and psychological counseling program was launched by our foundation and is 100% funded by us.
17 years: Psychological counseling, occupational therapy, and speech therapy
February 3, 2026: Topping-out ceremony for another shelter in Essen
A milestone has been reached: The structural work for another child protection center in Essen-Altenessen has been completed. We celebrated this significant milestone on February 3, 2026, with a grand topping-out ceremony.
For seventeen years, the freddy fischer foundation has been funding much-needed occupational and speech therapy, as well as psychological support, for children at the Spatzennest emergency shelter—a safe haven for girls and boys who have been through traumatic experiences.
Why this project is so important
The children at Spatzennest are often traumatized by mistreatment, abuse and extreme neglect. They arrive with developmental delays, fears, and insecurities. Without targeted support, they risk falling behind in school and in life.
Our Mission
We help these children regain their strength. Through targeted therapy, their language skills, motor skills, and behavior improve—they gain confidence, stability, and a real chance for the future. Every day counts. Every bit of help does, too.
The demand for spots is enormous—over 400 inquiries per year show just how great the need is. A third facility is in the planning stages, but financial support is still lacking. Help us give these children a future!
Our project at Spatzennest in Essen since 2009
Occupational therapy, speech therapy, and psychological counseling for children. The “Spatzennest” emergency care center for children is a facility run by the Essen chapter of the German Child Protection Association. The occupational therapy, speech therapy, and psychological counseling program was launched by our foundation and is 100% funded by us.
Background of our project
Almost all of the children at Spatzennest are traumatized children who are admitted to the emergency room due to physical abuse, sexual abuse, or neglect. Many of these children have limitations in areas such as movement, perception, fine motor skills, concentration, behavior, oral motor skills, and many others, and they need support to ensure equal opportunities so they do not fall behind their peers in school.
Creating this equality of opportunity is what drives our project.
The emergency shelter serves as a temporary home for these children. They stay for a maximum of two years, are placed with foster families, or returned to their biological families if possible.
Currently, the Essen branch of the German Child Protection Association operates two facilities for these children. The “little sparrows” (up to age 6) are housed in Essen-Borbeck in the most recently built facility. The “older sparrows,” up to age 12, are in Essen-Altenessen. A total of 26 children are currently being cared for in these facilities. The demand for available spots throughout the year exceeds all expectations. Approximately 400 requests are received from Essen, neighboring towns, and even from all over North Rhine-Westphalia. An astounding number, when you consider that we are talking here about abused young children who should actually be receiving our love and protection. For this reason, the Child Protection Association is also planning a third facility. Many donations are still needed for this as well. On this subject,
„We have now been supported by the freddy fischer Foundation for 15 years. Hasn’t time just flown by? And that means a significant number of children have been given a chance in life thanks to their help!“
– Frau Heuer (Dipl. Sozialarbeiterin)
Here is a case study illustrating how our occupational therapy, speech therapy, and psychological counseling work:
R. (male) / 3 years old began to attract attention at the Child Protection Association’s daycare center. He arrived at the center in winter wearing inadequate clothing, even when temperatures were below freezing. He appeared neglected and exhibited highly unusual behavior. After several conversations with his single mother (25), it became clear that she was severely overwhelmed, the apartment was filthy, and the children were left to fend for themselves. The Youth Welfare Office was contacted.
R. was emotionally very unstable, prone to outbursts of anger and self-harm. In addition, he exhibited extreme motor restlessness and distractibility; he would not stay seated at the table during meals or would constantly empty all the cabinets. He spoke only a few words, and these were very aimless and unclear. After 22 hours of occupational and speech therapy, his communication improved; he was able to follow routines and rules, and his concentration increased. After approximately 15 therapy sessions, a significant improvement in his behavior was also evident in daily group activities.
Although R. still requires intensive therapeutic support due to his challenges, he is now better able to cope with daily life in the group.
Ms. Pammé (Director of the Center for Child Development) concludes as follows:
„Together with the team at Spatzennest, we are consistently and pleasantly surprised by how quickly the children show signs of progress. We are glad that their time at Spatzennest can be used to optimally support their development. Having the same occupational therapist for many years ensures a very effective partnership.“
– Ms. Pammé (Director of the Center for Child Development)
As you can see, we still have a lot of work ahead of us, and we continue to ask for your support so that we can rise to this challenge.
Project Archiv
2024: Our ‘Raised Beds’ project with the Freddy Fischer Foundation and the Ackerhelden
Report from Freie Schule Essen e.V.
Setting up and maintaining raised beds
At the start of the year, the Ackerhelden set up three large raised beds in a fenced-off area, which were then planted together with the children. Hardy vegetable varieties were chosen that could be harvested as early as spring and would remain ready for harvesting for a longer period. From that point on, our girls and boys were on hand to look after the plants. The children taking part had no previous experience of gardening. Cucumber and tomato seedlings grew from the seeds they had collected.
Care and challenges
We had to check regularly to make sure the vegetables were being watered properly. It was really exciting to watch the vegetable plants grow and get bigger. At the same time, we had quite a scare when snails started munching on the plants. It was only by using coffee grounds and then straw that we managed to outwit the snails. Unfortunately, they had already eaten their fill. Our children, however, pointed out that the snails were hungry too.
Harvest successes
We were able to harvest lots of different varieties of lettuce in beautiful colours, as well as Swiss chard, which none of us had ever eaten before – delicious! Our home-grown radishes were particularly tasty – so crisp and fresh.
New plants from Zollverein
In the spring, we visited the Ackerhelden at Zollverein, where we bought some new vegetable varieties to plant: tomatoes, kohlrabi, fennel, courgettes, peppers, aubergines and chillies. We bought covers for the tomatoes, and hung up some window boxes on the trellises, into which we planted strawberries.
Maintenance by the ‘Garden Voles’
Twice a week, the ‘Garden Voles’ group took care of tending and harvesting the garden. The produce harvested is enjoyed by all the children at lunch and dinner in our centre. The courgettes, lettuces and herbs (sage, parsley, thyme, chives), as well as the tomatoes and cucumbers, are still growing. We have tried out a variety of dishes using the harvested vegetables, such as courgette fritters, stuffed courgettes (there were so many of them) or tomato omelettes.
Farmyard Festival
On Friday, 11 October 2024, we will be holding a courtyard party. We would like to clean up the outdoor areas, the raised beds and the courtyard with your help and get them ready for winter.
Plans for late summer
In late summer, we will lay out the raised beds so that we can use one section for overwintering herbs, prepare a bed for winter vegetables such as kale, savoy cabbage and endives, and create another bed for spring using green manure.