KOCO OLIVIA HICKEY SHOWS US HOW THE HOPE BOOTH WORKS. THE UNDERGROUND IS A PLACE TO PERUSE OUR IN PASS THROUGH, BUT NOW IT’S A SPACE WHERE YOU CAN SEEK HELP WITH THE TOUCH OF A BUTTON. A NEW MENTAL HEALTH TOOL INTRODUCED IN DOWNTOWN. INSIDE A REIMAGINED TELEPHONE BOOTH. A LOT OF TIMES WHEN PEOPLE ARE STRUGGLING, THEY DON’T EVEN KNOW THE RESOURCES THAT EXIST. AND SO OUR GOAL IS HOW DO WE HELP ELIMINATE HAVING TO DO THE MENTAL STRIVING AND THE MENTAL WORK OF WHAT OTHER RESOURCES ARE IN THE COMMUNITY. THIS IS A HOPE BOOTH, A FAST AND FREE INTERACTIVE KIOSK CONNECTING PEOPLE WITH PURPOSE AND SUPPORT. CLICK TO BEGIN TO BEGIN AND IT ASKS YOU WHAT IS YOUR LEVEL OF HOPE? SO THIS WE DESCRIBE AS AN INTRINSIC LEVEL ON A SLIDING SCALE OF 1 TO 5, WHERE SOMEONE CAN SELECT HOW THEY FEEL. AT THE MOMENT, IT’S A MIXTURE OF A MESSAGE OF HOPE THAT WE’VE WRITTEN ALONG PART OF OUR SCIENCE FOR NEUROLOGISTS, PSYCHOLOGISTS, THERAPISTS, AND SOCIAL WORKERS. BUT IT DOESN’T STOP THERE. WE CONNECT PEOPLE TO ABOUT 20 DIFFERENT CATEGORIES AND SUBCATEGORIES OF SUPPORT WITHIN A FIVE MILE RADIUS. SO THAT COULD LOOK LIKE COST REDUCED SHELTERS, FOOD BANKS, AND FINANCIAL SERVICES, EMPLOYMENT SERVICES, IMMIGRATION SERVICES, WHATEVER IS AVAILABLE IN THAT COMMUNITY WITHIN A FIVE MILE RADIUS. FOUNDER AND CEO GLORIA UMANA SAYS SHE’S HAD HER OWN STRUGGLES, BUT HOPE HAS KEPT HER ALIVE. SHE HOPES THE FOUR LETTER WORD CAN TRANSFORM COMMUNITIES IF SUICIDE IS IMPACTING ONE PERSON EVERY 40S OR ON THE GLOBE. BUT IN THE U.S., EVERY 43 SECONDS, THAT MEANS OKLAHOMA CITY IS EMBEDDED WITHIN THAT NUMBER. THE NONPROFIT PARTNERS WITH ORGANIZATIONS TO HELP COVER THE COSTS. THIS TIME, IT WAS SIMPLE, MODERN. OUR DESIRE IS TO SEE COMMUNITIES THRIVE AND COMMUNITIES GROW. IT’S LITERALLY WHY WE EXIST. THE NONPROFIT HAS A GOAL OF INSTALLING 100 BOOTHS AROUND THE WORLD IN THE NEXT FEW YEARS, INCLUDING COMMUNITIES IMPACTED BY GUN VIOLENCE LIKE UVALDE,
Hope Booth unveiled in downtown Oklahoma City to provide mental health support
A reimagined telephone booth called the Hope Booth has been introduced in downtown Oklahoma City, offering free and interactive mental health resources to the community
Updated: 6:25 PM CDT Apr 17, 2026
A ribbon-cutting ceremony in downtown Oklahoma City celebrated the launch of the Hope Booth, a reimagined telephone booth designed to provide free and interactive mental health support. >> Download the KOCO 5 app | Subscribe to KOCO 5’s YouTube channel | Sign up for KOCO 5’s Morning Newsletter The booth, located in The Underground, offers a fast and accessible way for individuals to connect with resources and support. Gloria Umanah, founder and CEO of Hope Booth, explained the purpose behind the initiative. “A lot of times when people are struggling, they don’t even know the resources that exist, and so our goal is how do we eliminate the mental striving and the mental work of what other resources are in the community,” Umanah said. The interactive kiosk begins by asking users to rate their level of hope on a sliding scale from one to five. It then provides breathing exercises and messages of hope created by a team of social workers and a science board. “It’s a mixture of breathing exercises, messages of hope that we’ve written alongside our science board, social workers,” Umanah said. The booth also connects users with 20 categories and subcategories of support within a five-mile radius, including resources such as shelters, food banks, financial services, and immigration services. “We can connect people with 20 categories and subcategories of support within a five-mile radius that can look like shelter, food banks, financial services, immigration services, whatever is available in that community within a five-mile radius,” Umanah said. Umanah shared that her own struggles inspired her to create the Hope Booth, emphasizing the importance of hope in transforming lives and communities. “If suicide is impacting one person every forty seconds around the globe, but in the U.S. every 43 seconds, that means Oklahoma City is embedded in that number,” Umanah said. The nonprofit collaborates with organizations to cover the costs of the booths, with Simple Modern sponsoring this installation. “Our desire is to see communities thrive and grow. It’s literally why we exist,” said Jenny Scott, director of logistics at Simple Modern. Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.The nonprofit aims to install 100 booths worldwide in the coming years, including in communities affected by gun violence such as Uvalde, Texas; Chicago; and Boston.Top HeadlinesTIMELINE: Storms with tornado and damaging wind threat possible Friday in OklahomaAstronomers measure the mind-blowing power and speed of black hole jets for the first timeStrait of Hormuz is fully open, Trump and Iranian foreign minister saysFamily vanished while getting Christmas tree in 1958. Their remains were just identifiedFord recalls 1.4 million F-150 pickup trucks to fix a gearshift issue
OKLAHOMA CITY —
A ribbon-cutting ceremony in downtown Oklahoma City celebrated the launch of the Hope Booth, a reimagined telephone booth designed to provide free and interactive mental health support.
>> Download the KOCO 5 app | Subscribe to KOCO 5’s YouTube channel | Sign up for KOCO 5’s Morning Newsletter
The booth, located in The Underground, offers a fast and accessible way for individuals to connect with resources and support. Gloria Umanah, founder and CEO of Hope Booth, explained the purpose behind the initiative.
“A lot of times when people are struggling, they don’t even know the resources that exist, and so our goal is how do we eliminate the mental striving and the mental work of what other resources are in the community,” Umanah said.
The interactive kiosk begins by asking users to rate their level of hope on a sliding scale from one to five. It then provides breathing exercises and messages of hope created by a team of social workers and a science board.
“It’s a mixture of breathing exercises, messages of hope that we’ve written alongside our science board, social workers,” Umanah said.
The booth also connects users with 20 categories and subcategories of support within a five-mile radius, including resources such as shelters, food banks, financial services, and immigration services.
“We can connect people with 20 categories and subcategories of support within a five-mile radius that can look like shelter, food banks, financial services, immigration services, whatever is available in that community within a five-mile radius,” Umanah said.
Umanah shared that her own struggles inspired her to create the Hope Booth, emphasizing the importance of hope in transforming lives and communities.
“If suicide is impacting one person every forty seconds around the globe, but in the U.S. every 43 seconds, that means Oklahoma City is embedded in that number,” Umanah said.
The nonprofit collaborates with organizations to cover the costs of the booths, with Simple Modern sponsoring this installation.
“Our desire is to see communities thrive and grow. It’s literally why we exist,” said Jenny Scott, director of logistics at Simple Modern.
Get the latest news stories of interest by clicking here.
The nonprofit aims to install 100 booths worldwide in the coming years, including in communities affected by gun violence such as Uvalde, Texas; Chicago; and Boston.
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