This article analyzes four refugee support organizations in Austria—Flucht nach Vorn, KAMA, PROSA, and Queer Base—founded before the 2015 refugee crisis. These organizations occupy a middle ground between mainstream NGOs and social movements, combining inclusive governance, autonomy, personalized relationships with refugees, and radical critique with service delivery. The founders, with previous experience in NGOs and social movements, identified gaps in existing services and the need for political critique. They established autonomous organizations to address these gaps, offering services that meet social rather than legal needs of asylum seekers. These organizations create spaces of encounter that challenge the asylum system's "organized disintegration," fostering new political collectivities. They balance autonomy with volunteerism, professionalism, and radical system critique, while also addressing structural and financial risks. The organizations emphasize the right of asylum seekers and refugees to a life beyond bare existence, creating spaces that challenge the isolation of the asylum system and promote solidarity. They combine service delivery with political demands, inspiring a new form of organization that both delivers services and advocates for change. The article highlights the importance of personal relationships, affective ties, and political engagement in these initiatives, which navigate tensions between social movements and NGOs, and between majority-led and grassroots migrant-led organizations.This article analyzes four refugee support organizations in Austria—Flucht nach Vorn, KAMA, PROSA, and Queer Base—founded before the 2015 refugee crisis. These organizations occupy a middle ground between mainstream NGOs and social movements, combining inclusive governance, autonomy, personalized relationships with refugees, and radical critique with service delivery. The founders, with previous experience in NGOs and social movements, identified gaps in existing services and the need for political critique. They established autonomous organizations to address these gaps, offering services that meet social rather than legal needs of asylum seekers. These organizations create spaces of encounter that challenge the asylum system's "organized disintegration," fostering new political collectivities. They balance autonomy with volunteerism, professionalism, and radical system critique, while also addressing structural and financial risks. The organizations emphasize the right of asylum seekers and refugees to a life beyond bare existence, creating spaces that challenge the isolation of the asylum system and promote solidarity. They combine service delivery with political demands, inspiring a new form of organization that both delivers services and advocates for change. The article highlights the importance of personal relationships, affective ties, and political engagement in these initiatives, which navigate tensions between social movements and NGOs, and between majority-led and grassroots migrant-led organizations.