56 mostly schizophrenic longterm patients of a community based outpatient facility were questioned about their autonomy referring to living, working and finances, to their dependence on parents, partners, relatives and professional helpers in accomplishing every-day tasks to their social contacts and to their contentment. Only 11% of the patients live with parents and 4% are financially dependent from them. Parents are only helping by accomplishing every-day tasks, when the patients are living with them. Even then patients accomplish more than half of their affairs by themselves. However there is a strong emotional tie on parents. Professional helpers, mostly working in halfway facilities, relieve relatives in a high degree. 36% of the patients live single and are very independent, they accomplish 82% of their affairs by themselves. 23% live with a partner, who helps probably not more than he would do with a healthy partner. 3/4 of the patients are content with their living conditions. Possible explanations are discussed. The investigated patients, mostly quite impaired, are altogether far more autonomous than expected. We think that this is due to a comprehensive social network of outpatient treatment and halfway facilities combined with a sufficient invalidity insurance. This network seems to lighten the burden of the relatives, mainly the parents, as demanded by the family-burden-literature.