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‘World’s largest cardboard fort’ aims to educate visitors on how to maintain mental health

  | Aug. 6, 2020, 11:48 p.m.
| Updated: Aug. 7, 2020, 12:25 a.m.

(Rick Egan | The Salt Lake Tribune) CEOs and their families check out what organizers are calling the world's largest cardboard fort at the Gateway, during the official launch on Thursday, August 6. The rooms of the fort are dedicated to educate visitors on how to build mental wellness. According to the press release nearly 40% of people say their company has not even asked them how theyÕre doing since the pandemic began, making these people nearly 40% more likely to experience a decrease in mental health. Utah ranks 48 out of 51 for its high prevalence of mental illness and low access to care, according to Mental Health America and in 2019, we had the 5th highest suicide rate in the nation. The fort, called Òroom HereÓ will officially open to the public on Friday, August 7 from Noon to 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, 2020.

Feeling anxious or sad as the coronavirus pandemic drags on? You aren’t alone. And to help fight mental illness, the nonprofit organization Room Here, Convoi Events and volunteers have built a huge Salt Lake City cardboard fort designed to teach people how to “build mental wellness,” according to a news release.

Described by organizers as “the world’s largest cardboard fort,” the meandering structure made of 13,000 cardboard boxes will be open to the public on Friday from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Guests can wander the “Room Here” exhibit’s various rooms, which are built around the themes of “mindfulness, expression, exercise, community” and techniques on how to de-stress, the release said.

The fort is located at 12 S. Rio Grande St. in The Gateway mall in Salt Lake City, southwest of the Olympic fountain.

Room Here is a nonprofit started by a group of Utah CEOs to focus on mental health at work. According to the release, “nearly 40% of people say their company has not even asked them how they’re doing since the pandemic began, making these people nearly 40% more likely to experience a decrease in mental health.”

Utah ranks 48th out of 51 states and the District of Columbia for its high prevalence of mental illness and low access to care, according to Mental Health America.