Planning for people is a series of pamphlets designed to share information gained from the experience of setting up and running a comprehensive community service for adults with mental handicap in South Bristol, using ordinary housing. They are intended to give an account of the Bristol development, and some discussion of its apparent strengths and weaknesses, based on initial experience. The pamphlets are presented as working papers only, not as a definite blueprint for the development of services elsewhere: a full appraisal of the successes and failures of the service will not be possible until it has been operational for some time. This first pamphlet concentrates on the recruiting and training of staff in a community mental handicap service.