WORCESTER, Mass. – Dozens of people working to reduce homelessness in the region gathered at Assumption University on Tuesday for a first-of-its-kind summit aimed at better understanding all angles of the issue.

The New England Homeless Summit, organized by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, featured dozens of experts from various agencies and organizations working daily to end homelessness. Tim Garvin, CEO of United Way of Central Massachusetts, said it was thrilling to see so many people fighting for the same cause.

“Behind me, we have 250 advocates, practitioners, front-line people, policymakers, who are all working together and who all believe we can and we will end homelessness,” Garvin said. “That’s the most inspiring thing I can think of.”

Panels discussed issues such as public housing tools, coordination and communication at the local, state and federal level, specific issues impacting homeless youth and other topics.

Leah Bradley, executive director of the Central Massachusetts Housing Alliance, said teamwork and collaboration has always been the way forward.

“It’s really about the partnerships that we have here in Worcester and the success we’ve had in housing folks that are experiencing homelessness and expanding our shelter system for families,” Bradley said. “We’ve also been able to do some really great work in some of the smaller communities, and having HUD here to really highlight that and have other folks from across the region talk about those practices is really going to help us move our progress forward in ending homelessness.”

Bradley helps oversee CMHA’s annual Point in Time Count, which tracks the ebbs and flows of Worcester County’s homeless population.

The latest data shows a slight drop from 642 people to 604, and Bradley says while there’s plenty of work to do, new developments like A Place to Live on Lewis Street, which offer wraparound resources to set people up for success, have proven to be a strong model going forward.

“Our numbers are showing that permanent supportive housing really is working, and so we saw a decrease in the number of chronically homeless individuals and we attribute that to the permanent supportive housing projects that are out there and the success of those,” Bradley said. “We do see that folks access those, and are much more able to reach their potential in the community.”

During her remarks in a panel discussion, Dr. Matilde Castiel, Worcester commissioner for health and human services, said the silver lining of the pandemic was the spirit of collaboration formed during a crisis, making projects like A Place to Live and other innovative housing solutions possible.

She’s looking forward to continuing the momentum.

“We certainly have housing production that is there, we have 190 units that should be coming up pretty soon, but it’s a constant work,” Castiel said. “The spirit of collaboration continues, otherwise we won’t move forward. So the importance of collaboration is with all of us, and that’s why this conference is good to be able to collaborate with others.”