Our Story

Healthy Relationships California (HRC) began in 2005 as the California Healthy Marriages Coalition. Over the years, HRC has operated via Federal funding to address the need for stronger families and communities within our society. We have partnered with a wide variety of organizations within California, nationally, and internationally to provide individuals and families with free, research-based information that, when implemented, has the power to change relationships and lives for the better. To date, HRC has served more than 200k Californians, including couples, parents, youth, incarcerated individuals, and more. 

Patty Howell

Our success as an organization has been due in great part to the efforts of our former President, Ms. Patty Howell. Patty served for over 40 years as a nationally recognized Relationship and Marriage Educator. She developed (often alongside her beloved husband, Ralph Jones) a number of Healthy Marriage/Relationship/Parenting programs — including our current R3 Academy curricula — and authored an award-winning series of Healthy Marriage/Responsible Fatherhood research booklets as well as a variety of other publications. Patty was a recipient of the Smart Marriages Impact Award and also served as a board member for the National Alliance of Marriage and Relationship Education (NARME) and the Association for Criminal Justice Research in California. 

In March of 2023, we lost Patty to a battle with cancer. We miss her dearly, and are so grateful for all that she gave us, both as an organization, and as individuals. We look forward to continuing her legacy as we continue to utilize research and interpersonal connection to strengthen relationships around the world.