The number of homeless individuals living on Springfield's streets is on the decline, but another population hits its highest number in years. Family homelessness has nearly doubled over the past year, and officials say a change in the way they deal with homeless families could help.

Mary Rodriguez is a success story. She's a recovering addict that's been homeless for more than a decade, even giving birth to her daughter Brianna while living in a shelter. But by the end of the month she will no longer be homeless, having secured an apartment of her own.

"It's not impossible," says Rodriguez. "Whatever you put your mind to, you can do. And if you want it that badly, you'll get it."

It's that determination that gives hope to so many in Springfield. Thursday the numbers of an annual count of the city's homeless were released, showing significant declines in the number of people living on the streets, and a slight drop in the numbers using shelters.

"It's a recognition that if we focus on something and target the way we spend money to resolve it, we can have results," says Geraldine McCafferty with the Office of Housing.

But the number of Springfield's homeless families, like Rodriguez and her daughters, nearly doubled. A statistic many blame on the current economy.

"People who lose their job are almost immediately homeless," says Patricia McDonnell of Jefferson Avenue Shelter. "I do think there is gonna be a rise in family homeless until this economy can change."

The Jefferson Avenue Shelter houses only families, but will shut down at the end of the month, as the state changes to a scattered site model where homeless families will be placed in apartments.

"It's a shelter, but it's an apartment, so can it become their home?" says McCafferty. "We're reducing the time that they are in this very unusual and stressful circumstance."

A plan that may not benefit everyone.

"My concern is the family that in a shelter spent months getting psychological help, getting help with substance abuse, getting help with parental issues," says McDonnell.

And while they wait to see if the scattered shelters work, officials hope Mary Rodriguez's story can echo through the streets.