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A recurrent theme in social policy documents is that people with mental health problems whould be integrated into the community. Yet for people with schizophrenia, this goal is called into question by the psychiatric literature which links social isolation to their condition in a variety of ways. This study explores that disjunction and contributes to the deinstitutionalization debate by shifting the focus from the negative effects of community living to the realities of life in the community. Using social network analysis complemented by a time budget study, the research investigates the nature and extent of the social integration of people with schizophrenia discharged to the community of Salford. Although the impoverished social networks revealed in this study appear to provide support for the social isolation hypothesis, it is argued that such an interpretation is unwarranted, given the government's consistent failure to make adequate reprovision in the community.