About the association

Ás is a parents association and one of the leading companies in service to people with disabilities in Iceland. The company is a mutual benefit organization and has, through the years, established a various types of service. Long term residence, daycare for both children and adults and work-related offers, helping people to find jobs at the open marked and find ways to make it easier to keep their own home, is few of our many concerns.

A new chapter in the story of ÁS was made in mars 2001 when the Icelandic Ministry of Social Affairs signed a new contract between them, ÁS and The Regional office for the people with disabilities in Reykjavík. This contract was crucial for the survival of the association and has made it stronger and more affective. Today ÁS has around 800 members registered. This strong support has made the association stronger and is the foundation into the future.

ÁS has a good relationship with all the main offices that provides services to people with disabilities. The association has dissipated in a cooperation group with other companies who operate in the same line of work. The association is also a member and has a board member in most of the other companies. ÁS is active in a Scandinavian co-work called Nordisk Netwærk Forum witch is a network that holds all of the main service accusations in Scandinavia working for people with disabilities.

The company’s course

ÁS has from the day it was established, been in the front line in offering service to people with learning disability. It has been the most important interest since the association was formed in 1958 to establish and practice homes for people with disabilities. There have been many good changes in the society through the years, but we can always do better.

Through last 20 years or so, ÁS have been forming all kinds of working policy. In the first years it was the vision for a better quality of life for people with disabilities that were the main drive, and of course it still is, but now it has a much more professional approach and the working policy has been in the hands of the board of governors and other directors of the company.

In October 1999 a workgroup, holding four members, was formed to compose a new strategy for the years to come. The outcome was a report that came to the conclusion, to make a long story short: That this was not some work that would be made ones in some year’s period, but it has to be a constant development.
It is necessary to take the pulse and revaluate the status of the company and what it stands for. In the year of 2001 a new force was made to see if we were on the right track. This diagnose finished in fall 2002. In the continuation of that work it was decided to make a clear course of were we would be heading for the next ten years  in our various field of work.

ÁS works according to the law of the state for people with disability that they should have a necessary solution in service and own residence. ÁS has 10 communes in different places over Reykjavík city; of witch 2 of them have apartments, 4 semi-apartments (living room and bedroom) and infusion rooms. There are about 63 persons from age of 26 – 81 living in houses in the name of the association, witch 22 of them get service from a special support service that helps them with every day needs.

The need of each person should be respected and his/her free will be guided at all times. Everyone has a right to certain life standard and should be allowed to participate in everyday life in their presumption. Every person should have a choice of their own privacy and sanctity at their home.