This paper deals with the specific quality of neighborhood and family informal support for older people in a rural context. It examines under which conditions this support is given and accepted. The aim is to clarify to what extent informal support relationships are sustainable in the context of social change in rural areas, whether they can and should be supported through social work interventions, and which measures could possibly be developed.

The research questions are discussed based on an analysis of current literature and biographical interviews with older people and their younger helpers. Expert interviews serve as a supplementary source of information.

The results show that the increasingly separate household and life arrangements of generations create a conflict-prone situation, as older people simultaneously expect to be cared for exclusively by relatives. This expectation is intensified by high family demands and social control from the rural neighborhood. Support resources in family and neighborhood are declining, and the expectations of all parties are not aligned with this reality. A community-based advisory and coordination center for older people and their relatives – whose design is roughly developed based on the aforementioned research findings – could help to support remaining informal and family support resources in the long term. The combination of a neutral expert entity “from outside,” which also engages closely with the local social structure, appears to be of crucial importance.