The Healthy Relationships Initiative involves a partnership between UNC Greensboro and the Phillips Foundation. Our interdisciplinary team members from UNC Greensboro bring together a diverse set of knowledge and skills to work toward HRI’s mission to promote happy, healthy, and safe relationships of all kinds. HRI is directed by Dr. Christine Murray, and you can learn more about Christine here.
Mission and Vision
- The mission of HRI is to provide information, resources, and services to promote happy, healthy, and safe relationships and prevent the negative consequences of relationship distress.
Vision Statement:
- We envision a world in which all people experience happy, healthy, and safe relationships of all kinds.
What are Happy, Healthy, and Safe Relationships?
- Happy, healthy, and safe relationships are foundational to healthy lives, families, and communities.
- We use the term, “happy, healthy, and safe,” to describe a continuum of relationship quality. People can experience different levels of relationship quality at different points in time within each relationship. In addition, people can experience varying levels of relationship quality in the different areas of their lives. For example, a person might have a happy relationship with their romantic partner but unhealthy relationships in their workplace.
- Safe relationships are free from all forms of abuse, neglect, and any other threats to one or more person’s physical or emotional safety, well-being, and development.
- Although each individual’s definitions of healthy relationships may vary, the core of healthy relationships is built on respect, trust, safety, acceptance, freedom of choice, positive communication and conflict management, and fun. Perfection is not a requirement for healthy relationships: even healthy relationships encounter challenges and conflicts. In healthy relationships, these challenges become opportunities for growth and learning.
- In addition to being safe and healthy, happy relationships are joy-filled. Happy relationships offer people a nurturing source of care and support. People in happy relationships treasure their time together, make each other a priority, and have a deep understanding of one another.