A holiday benefit show put on by Port Townsend’s Paul Rogers earned $2,250 for the Winter Shelter for the homeless.

“What a win-win for our entire community,” shelter manager deForest Walker said of the event, which provided “top of the line” entertainment for concertgoers while helping the shelter purchase food and supplies for its residents.

“I don’t play very much,” Rogers said, “but when I do, I want to to be attached to some cause.”

Last September, he helped to organize the Deep Squeeze Accordion Festival as a benefit for the food bank, and in December performed his popular annual Holiday Hi-Jinx Show as a benefit for the Winter Shelter.

The funds go toward items such as food, toilet paper, paper towels and cleaning supplies. “If we run out, we have to go and buy it,” Walker said, so it’s good to have extra supplies on hand.

Paying for utilities is also a priority, and Walker said it’s expensive to keep the place warm.

The shelter is run in partnership with the Community Outreach Association Shelter Team (COAST), Olympic Community Action Programs (OlyCAP) and American Legion Marvin G. Shields Post 26. Located in the basement of the Legion, the shelter opened for the winter season on Nov. 1 in 2016 and is to close on the morning of April 1.

Shelter hours are 4 p.m. to 8 a.m., and it serves an average of 30 people a night, Walker said.

Between November and January of this season, the Winter Shelter served 118 individuals, 33 of whom were women. Last year, the shelter served the same number of women over a period of five months. So far this year, it has served 19 veterans, which is one more than the number of veterans it served in total last year.

“We never want to see that number go up; we only want to see it go down,” said Walker.

Recently the shelter had 40 people, which is the highest number it has ever had. The cold weather and the lack of affordable housing are the main issues, Walker said. “Affordable housing is the cure for homelessness,” she said.