WORCESTER, Mass. - The Mayor’s Mental Health Task Force and the Worcester Department of Health and Human Services held a mental health summit Wednesday at City Hall.

It started with a walk around City Hall Common. State and city leaders joined professionals and people with lived experiences to educate the community about mental health.

Health commissioner Dr. Mattie Castiel said mental health is at the center of several of big issues facing the city.

"Whether we are talking about homelessness, incarceration, poverty, all of those things have to do with untreated mental health,” said Castiel. “We end up putting band aids on folks who have mental health issues, which doesn’t help. We need more mental health beds, we need more hospitals beds. We need to really treat addiction as to what it is."

After the walk, the crowd moved into City Hall for a discussion.