AUBURN -- Everybody wants a place to call home.

And with a declining economy and the highest countywide unemployment rate in 17 years, more people are finding themselves without a job and sometimes, without a home. Chapel House, in Auburn, offers a warm and friendly place for those in need.

The shelter held an open house Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. to provide a forum for interested citizens to ask questions as well as an opportunity for interested volunteers to sign up.

"It's just like home," said executive director Sandi Mettler. "We just try to meet their needs and get them back into the wonderful world. ... The clients are down on their luck and they need to know people do care."

Because of one very generous donor, Chapel House was able to relocate its facility from the old Holy Family Church gymnasium to a three-story house located at 36 Franklin St., Auburn.

Rhona Prescott, of Skaneateles, decided to donate her savings of $150,000 to Chapel House after visiting Holy Family Church with a friend. During her visit, her friend had to drop something off at the mission and that was the first time Prescott saw or heard of Chapel House, which was still located inside the church.

When she walked into the gymnasium, Prescott saw a few men and then she noticed a crib on the stage. On her way out of the church, she saw a mother and a small redheaded child entering the building. The girl was clutching a blanket close to her chest.

Prescott started thinking about the money she had saved over the years. Always living frugally, she had enough money to help her children with the costs of college. But just six months prior, the two remaining children who were not finished with their education both received full scholarships.

The next day, the wheels were set in motion and within a week, Prescott presented a check to the Rev. Dennis Shaw for the purchase of the property on Franklin Street.

"It was all in the timing. My kids had just gotten finally settled education-wise. I was holding this money for whoever was going to go. ... The money's in the bank snoozing. I'm widowed, I have very few expenses," she said. "By the next morning, it was just a flash. I woke up, thought about the money. I don't need it. I wound up in the shelter (and) it was an accident. That's where the money goes."

More than 80 people attended Saturday's open house and they liked what they saw.

"It's beautiful in there, it's just beautiful," said Kathryn Malek. "So many people don't realize how many are in need."

Malek came to the open house with her sister, Betty Fromel, who agreed that having a nice place for homeless people to go is important.

"They are ordinary people. They're not bums or anything like that. They are good people that need a place to stay temporarily," Fromel said.

Others who attended the open house said that Auburn needs a safe place for its homeless population. Before Chapel House opened in December 2007, people were sent by bus to Syracuse.

"It's very important because there are a lot more homeless than we realize. And they're not only homeless because they don't have jobs, but they are homeless because some of them are thrown out of their apartments way before they can find another place to live," said Albert Nicolella, who attends Holy Family Church.

Chapel House, which runs 100 percent on donations and volunteers, can serve up to 19 clients per night, Mettler said. To date, the shelter helped 169 people, of which 71 went back to living on their own. Many of them come back to volunteer at the shelter and to talk to people who find themselves in the same situation. The facility on Franklin Street has been open since Jan. 28.

"It's refreshing for the clients that are here now to see that it can happen, Mettler said, "(they) won't have to live here forever."