About Us
Access Independent Living Services was born out of a need for accessible housing that provides 24-hour attendant support services for adults with physical disabilities. Since 1989, Access has successfully launched four traditional Assisted Living (AL) programs offering 24/7 attendant services within the building; an Attendant Outreach (AO) program offering a maximum of 3-hours of services per day provided between 6:00 AM to midnight for Consumers who live in the community; and a Mobile Attendant Services (MAS) which is a hybrid of AL and AO offering services 24/7 in the community.
Access has six programs operating within the Toronto Region of Ontario Health. We have a dedicated team of Independent Living Assistants (ILAs) who are certified personal support workers delivering personal and non-personal care to our Consumers on a one-to-one basis. Our consumers consist of adults with physical disabilities who live independently in the community.
Independent Living Philosophy
At Access Independent Living Services, we provide services through the lens of the Independent Living philosophy.
A person with a disability is best able to determine how their disability affects them and to define their needs, and with appropriate support services, direct resources to respond and accommodate to these needs. It also encompasses the concept of “The Right to and Dignity of Risk” which is defined below:
The person with a disability should have the opportunity to:
- Make their own decisions
- Take risks
- Make their own mistakes
- Assume the consequences
Our History
In the fall of 1986, a group of concerned individuals living and working in a transitional living centre formed a committee to implement a permanent apartment project with attendant support services. This was in response to a shortage in Toronto of accessible housing with attendant support services. This ongoing shortage results in many individuals with physical disabilities being forced into inappropriate living situations, such as nursing homes, chronic care hospitals and other institutions.
In the spring of 1987, Access Apartments was formed and incorporated as a non-profit charitable organization to address this concern. A housing search was undertaken, and a proposal was submitted to the Provincial government to secure ongoing funding for support services.
In the fall of 1987, Metro Toronto Housing agreed to provide 10 two-bedroom wheelchair accessible apartments in a building being constructed at 2468 Eglinton Avenue West. On March 1, 1989, Access began providing services in this building. Premier David Peterson officially opened York Square/Plaut Manor on June 27, 1990.
Our Vision
Independence – For All -Together
Our Mission
Provide self directed services for people with physical support needs to live with autonomy in the community.
Our Values
- Person-Centred: We respect the diversity, choices and autonomy of our consumers and are responsive to their specific needs. We treat our consumers, staff, Board and stakeholders with dignity, respect and accept them as they are.
- Accountable: We demonstrate our integrity by being transparent, honest, and following through on our commitments. We use our financial resources responsibly.
- Collaborative: We work closely with our consumers, staff and stakeholders in striving for excellence within an integrated health system.
- Trustworthy: We provide quality services to our consumers. We are trusted by our stakeholders for our expertise in supporting a diverse range of independent living needs.
Principles of Service
- We respect and encourage autonomy by offering a full range of services to support independent living by our consumers
- We recognize and value the uniqueness of individuals by ensuring our services are self-directed according to individual needs
- We provide flexible services that support individuals to live up to their full potential
- We reduce physical barriers for our consumers
- We promote acceptance and tolerance among people
- We provide a safe environment for our consumers and staff
- We behave with the utmost honesty and integrity and ensure our hiring practices support these values
- We are accountable for meeting the needs of our consumers in a financially prudent manner, which does not compromise service quality
- We work collaboratively with other service providers and within our community
Access Independent Living Services is Leading the Way in AODA
The Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA), 2005 became law on June 13, 2005. This landmark piece of legislation compels organizations of all distinctions and sizes within Ontario to develop mandatory accessibility policies/standards that will identify, remove and prevent barriers for people with disabilities who purchase their goods or use their services.
Since 2005, the AODA has produced two regulations: the Accessibility Standards for Customer Service regulation (O. Reg. 429/07) and the Integrated Accessibility Standards regulation (O. Reg. 191/11).
Access Independent Living Services is a proud champion of promoting accessibility for people with disabilities and passionately supports the ideals, initiatives and goals outlined in the AODA and it’s associated regulations.
The following documents outline the policies and standards that make Access Independent Living Services compliant with the AODA’s measures and obligations:
Access Independent Living Services – Customer Service Plan
Access Independent Living Services – Multi-Year Accessibility Plan
