A self-help association was founded in East Húnavatnsýsla on April 2, 1981. The association's first chairman was Guðmundur Klemensson. The founding meeting was held following an informational meeting organized by a working committee on behalf of J.C. Húnabyggð and the Association of East Húnvetnsk Women (SAHK). Ólöf Ríkarðsdóttir attended the founding meeting and spoke about the work of Sjálfsbjörg. At a follow-up founding meeting on May 25 of the same year, the newly established association received generous donations.

In 1982, the association gave the Héraðshælið in Blönduós a training bench and a chair. The arrangement and facilities for physical therapy were then under discussion. The association has continued to support the region's healthcare institution and donated two wheelchairs to the Héraðssjúkrahúsið á Blönduósi in 2000 in memory of Guðmundur Klemensson, who had passed away. More donations have been given to the hospital in recent years.

In the fall of 1989, Jóhann Pétur Sveinsson and others traveled in electric wheelchairs from Akureyri to Reykjavík, stopping in Blönduós where they were welcomed with a coffee party.

In February 2000, assistance was requested from Sjálfsbjörg, the National Federation of the Disabled, to help pressure for improved accessibility to the East Húnavatn County courthouse. The request came from the then-sheriff, Kjartan Thorkelsson, and the timing of the request was perhaps no coincidence, as Arnór Pétursson, chairman of Sjálfsbjörg, and Sigurður Einarsson, executive director, were visiting Blönduós at the time. Representing Sjálfsbjörg in East Húnavatn County was Guðfinna Einarsdóttir, and the sheriff who succeeded Kjartan, along with others, were present. This is just one of several examples of an initiative in fisheries matters in East Húnavatnssýsla, as fisheries issues have often been the association's main cause.

Ingunn María Björnsdóttir was the chairperson of Sjálfsbjörg, East Húnavatnssýsla during Sjálfsbjörg lsf.'s 50th anniversary year (2009), as well as during the national federation's 60th anniversary year in 2019.