Introduction

For thousands of years people in crisis have found support by staying with concerned and caring neighbours. This was achieved without staff, formal programmes, quarterly fiscal reviews or programme criteria; help was needed, help was offered. It is therefore logical that community families are a component of contemporary community mental health care, yet this type of service is rarely found in mental health systems.

This chapter will explore the role of community families in providing emergency support to people with mental illness. After some background and a review of the literature, the Crisis Home Program of the Mental Health Center of the Dane County will be described in detail, with an emphasis on practical considerations. The chapter will conclude with observations about why this option is not more prevalent despite its tremendous potential.

Historical overview and review of literature

The ‘innovative’ ideas of the current age are often the direct descendants (and bear a striking resemblance) to notions of previous generations. This is certainly the case with the idea of using family homes to help those with a mental illness. The most famous example is that of the village of Gheel, Belgium, where for perhaps 1300 years families have opened their homes to people with mental illness (Aring, 1974). This was most commonly done on a long-term basis.