St. Louis County is sponsoring a Night Without a Home Sleep Out and Fundraiser today at historic Wade Stadium in West Duluth. Over 500 people are expected to participate in the various events, and many will spend the night in cardboard boxes and tents.

"We're raising awareness to homelessness and hunger in the Northland, in creative ways," said event coordinator Scott Yeazle. "We started the day with softball game, featuring several candidates running for office this fall and members of the local media. The Outlaws defeated the Crushers 14-9. Tonight, we're having a homelessness demo, using each of the four baseball bases as stations to explain the different elements of what it means to be homeless. When you get to home plate, you find out what having your own home would be like. We will also break into small groups to talk about what it means to be a homeless man, woman, youth and family. The presenters are people who have experienced being homeless themselves.

"Homelessness isn't just in the streets of New York City, but it's here in the Northland. Our homeless reside in skywalks, at Walmart, in shacks in the woods, in vacant buildings, in parking ramps -- anywhere they won't freeze to death in the winter months. CHUM is the only emergency shelter we have."

St. Louis County has an ambitious 10-year plan to end homeless, adopted in 2007. "St. Louis County has approximately 35 agencies and organizations working towards the goal of significantly reducing homelessness in the community," said Laura DeRosier, Housing and Homeless Coordinator for St. Louis County.

Aadi Hand (right), 11, is attending the event with his mother, Jnana Hand. "It's cool that they're having this, so that people who need stuff can get what they need," said Aadi Hand, who attends Washburn Edison Charter School in Duluth. "Sometimes we forget that there's people out there that are in need. My mom and I will will be camping out here tonight, and it will be fun to experience what homeless people go through every night." Night Without a Home is a great event for the community, said Duluth City Councilor Dan Hartman. "The event brings awareness to an issue that we haven't solved and need to keep working harder on," said Hartman. "It's difficult to determine if we're making inroads in homelessness, since the economy and the war in Iraq and Afganistan are creating more homeless people. Veterans are more likely to experience homelessness than any other segment of society." St. Louis County homelessness stats: . Right now, women and children make up over 50-percent of the homeless population in St. Louis County. (Blandin Foundation) . In 2003, 9,200 people in Minnesota were homeless. This is projected to rise substantially in the 2009 survey. (The Wilder Foundation homelessness survey) . Duluth has the second highest rate of homelessness outside of the Twin Cities. (Wilder Foundation) . The actual homeless count in Duluth in 2003 was 533. However, they estimate that the actual number could be as high as 4,100. (Wilder Foundation)

. Seventy-one percent of homeless adults interviewed in Duluth had been discharged from a correctional or human service facility within the past year. (Wilder Foundation) . Thirty-eight percent of homeless women in Duluth were fleeing abuse. (Wilder Foundation) . Veterans and people of color are disproportionately represented among the homeless in Duluth. (Wilder Foundation) Note: Howie is participating in tonight's event, and spending the night in a large cardboard refrigerator box. He identified his box among the many inside the station by etching "Howie" on an outside wall, in duct tape. He posted this blog from his laptop, inside his bunk for the night,