School of Hard Knocks - Port Macquarie Hastings

The School of Hard Knocks - Port Macquarie-Hastings (SOHK PMH) came out of a long conversation in 2014 between Dr Jonathon Welch AM from Melbourne, the Founder of the Choir of Hard Knocks back in 2006, and Ms Val Evans, General Manager of Port Macquarie Community College and its training arm, SkillsLink Training. Together Jonathon and Val saw the potential in setting up a branch of this creative arts for recovery program here. So they started building the relationship and it led to a formal agreement signed in October 2015. The School of Hard Knocks now has branches in Melbourne, Brisbane and Port Macquarie, ours being the first regional branch in a planned national network. This movement aims to assist people experiencing homelessness, mental distress, social disadvantage, long-term unemployment, risks of re-offending and disability.