Coming Together for Compassionate Care: Region 3 HMCC Hosts Conference to Address Homelessness Through Collaborative Action
By: Elizabeth Robert, Emergency Preparedness Manager
June 11, 2025 – Haverhill, MA — During the week of May 30, the Massachusetts Region 3 Health and Medical Coordinating Coalition (Region 3 HMCC) brought together leaders, practitioners, and advocates from across public health, healthcare, and social services for a pivotal event: the Collaborative Approaches to Support Unhoused Individuals Conference. Held at Northern Essex Community College’s Hartleb Technology Center, the event underscored a central truth: supporting individuals experiencing homelessness requires a whole-community approach rooted in compassion, coordination, and shared responsibility.
Region 3 HMCC is a regional collaborative uniting local Public Health, EMS, Long-Term Care Facilities, Large Ambulatory Care Practices, Community Health Centers, and Hospitals. Covering communities across Northeastern Massachusetts, the coalition works year-round to strengthen emergency preparedness and response across sectors. This conference marked a key milestone in its efforts to address one of the most complex and urgent public health challenges of our time—unhoused individuals.
The day opened with a keynote from Lowell Community Health Center, titled Celebrating Collaborative Success in Community Health. The address focused on how cross-sector partnerships can break silos and bring integrated solutions to people in crisis. The message was clear: no single entity can meet the needs of unhoused individuals alone. Collaboration is not just beneficial—it is essential.
A powerful panel discussion followed, highlighting the innovative work being done by partners of the Deborah Smith Walsh Recuperative Care Center. Panelists shared how healthcare, housing, and wraparound support services are coming together to provide comprehensive care that addresses both immediate needs and long-term stability. Their multidisciplinary approach serves as a blueprint for what coordinated community response can look like. A central theme that emerged from the discussion was the critical role of municipal leadership and support in driving this work forward and helping to create policy environments that encourage innovation and collaboration around this topic.
Breakout sessions throughout the day provided attendees with both inspiration and actionable tools:
- The National Mass Violence Center explored how communities can prepare for mass violence incidents while prioritizing trauma-informed support for those who may become displaced.
- Centerboard led a conversation on Navigating Crisis: Addressing Homelessness and Health Through a Social Determinants of Health Framework, emphasizing how health and housing are intertwined in complex ways.
- The American Red Cross shared field experiences in Beyond the Cots, illustrating the nuanced care needed in disaster response efforts that often lead to homelessness.
- Kraft Community Care In Reach Mobile Health Unit presented on adapting mobile services to meet people where they are—literally and figuratively—through integrated public health outreach.
More than just a conference, the event served as a call to action: we must move from isolated efforts to intentional, sustained collaboration if we are to truly support individuals experiencing homelessness. It highlighted that emergency preparedness, healthcare delivery, and social support must work in concert—not in parallel.
This conference wouldn’t have been possible without the thoughtful coordination and support of the Region 3 HMCC Board of Governors, whose ongoing commitment helps bring partners together around shared goals. Their commitment to building bridges across disciplines and institutions ensures that the region is not only prepared to respond to emergencies but is also proactively addressing the conditions that create vulnerability in the first place.
As attendees left inspired and better equipped, the overarching message resonated: every sector has a role to play, and only together can we build a healthier, more resilient, and more equitable future for all—especially our most vulnerable neighbors.