Aim. The aim of the current study is to present the characteristics of the mentally ill persons participating in a home care services realised in Warsaw. Method. 105 long-term patients receiving home care services were included in the study. They were not hospitalised at the time of the interview. The data was collected with the use of GAS and a questionnaire specifically designed for the study's aims. Conclusions. The chronically mentally ill persons present with numerous difficulties in their social functioning. Good functioning of our respondents in social situations can be accounted for by their participation in the home care services system, and protects them against successive hospitalisation. It is necessary to consider the local home care programmes as an effective mechanism supporting functioning of chronically mentally ill people.