Few departments have the resources to support an ideal program in community psychiatry. In this article, the authors discuss the difficulties and benefits of introducing longterm community-based treatment of the chronically mentally ill into a residency program with limited resources of time and personnel. The residents initially were fearful of the program and tended to avoid its unique community aspects. The authors describe how they dealt with these problems and how the program evolved into a well-accepted part of the residency over its first 4 years of operation. The authors conclude that, even on a time budget of 4 to 6 hours weekly, residents can have a meaningful learning experience in communitybased care of the chronically mentally ill.Abstract Teaser