'The Rehab Booth' hopes to connect drug addicts with resources

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – Two Utah men are hoping to connect drug addicts with a national drug rehabilitation hotline through “The Rehab Booth.”

Many people have an idea of what they’ll see in the Rio Grande area in Salt Lake City, but a big red box isn’t normally part of that idea.

On one side of the large foam box is a phone number, which connects users to a drug rehab recovery line.

Todd Sylvester and his friend Josh Rossi set the booth up Thursday, and people have already noticed.

“We’ve already got a few phone calls and we even got someone help,” Sylvester said.

Sylvester said he knows about the struggles of fighting addiction – 30 years ago, he was addicted to alcohol and cocaine.

“You feel hopeless,” Sylvester said. “It leaves you empty. It destroys you. It takes your soul. It really is just this destructive path and it happens quicker than you think.”

It’s a simple idea and the two men hoped putting an answer right in an area where drug use is common can help reach more people.

Both men know their booth, which was set up on a city sidewalk, could be taken down at any moment. But they said they had to do something.

“This is where they deal,” Rossi said. “This is where they do drugs – probably the worst spot. You’ve got to get to the epicenter where the right audience is. Some people put up big billboards, but those billboards might be 20 blocks from here.”

Sylvester and Rossi said they plan to put more booths up throughout the city, focusing on spots where drugs are a bigger problem.

“With the boom of opioid addiction, we’re seeing it so much,” Sylvester said. “What we’re hoping is that they call this number. If I can do this, anyone can.”

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