Singer-songwriter Lauren Monroe gets ready to perform a benefit concert for the Shuman HeartHouse shelter.

Lauren Monroe is on a mission – and it’s not just musical.

The singer-songwriter and her husband, Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen, have been helping veterans suffering from PTSD, as well as other trauma survivors, through their Raven Drum Foundation since 2001.

The raven-haired musician and healer performs Oct. 2 at the Monterey Fairgrounds in the “Heart for Change’’ benefit for the Shuman HeartHouse, a homeless shelter for women and families on the Peninsula that will open in 2023 (see story, p. 12). Allen will accompany her, as will multi-instrumentalist Jayson Fann, composer-in-residence at the Monterey Symphony John Wineglass, percussionist Steve Robertson, local teenage phenom Katherine Lavin and vocalist Tammi Brown.

Brown also sings back-up on Monroe’s new album Messages From Aphrodite, an ambitious collection she co-produced with Jim Scott, famed for his work with Tedeschi Trucks Band, Tom Petty and The Rolling Stones.

Monroe says joining the HeartHouse benefit was “a no-brainer – we’re friends with Jayson Fann, who reached out to us about it, and are familiar with the great work of Mark and Adriana Shuman, who very generously made the donation to make the shelter possible.

“Everybody is really inspired – not just to raise funds, but to raise awareness of these issues,” she adds.

All the songs on her new album are related to “love, in all its facets, from a woman’s perspective,” Monroe says. That includes themes such as “how to love, how to grieve, how to let go, how to be tolerant.”

Standout cuts include “Kiss Me,” a lighthearted love song; “Sparrow,” on which Monroe plays the djembe, a West African drum; and Jane Siberry’s classic “Calling All Angels.”

“It’s so beautiful – it helps people access a deeper part of themselves,’’ Monroe says of the tune. “But I do it very differently – more Americana.’’ (She and Allen will perform the song at high mass at the Carmel Mission Basilica on Sunday, Oct. 23. A suggested donation to attend that show is $10.)

One advance warning if you plan to attend the benefit: Asked if she plans to cover any Def Leppard tunes, Monroe laughs. “Definitely not,” she says. “I’m staying in my lane.”

HEART FOR CHANGE 1-5pm Sunday, Oct. 2. Monterey Fairgrounds, 2004 Fairgrounds Road. $25; free to children under 12 with adult (advance registration required). 658-3811, chservices.org