Courtesy of Hope Booth
Gloria Umanah knows what it’s like to feel lost. In October 2011, the first-generation Nigerian American almost lost her life to suicide. “That was not a time in which our culture was talking a lot about mental health or suicide prevention,” she recalls. Now a spoken-word artist and inspirational speaker, Umanah decided to do something to help combat the staggering rates of depression and loneliness across the globe. “I wanted to create something that would help people feel seen and would make hope and help free and accessible,” she says.
That led to Hope Booth, a mental health nonprofit Umanah founded in 2021. The inspiration came from her memories of growing up in the ’90s in Atlanta, when lit-from-within phone booths were easy to spot at night. “I thought to myself, That’s a perfect depiction of hope. It’s a light in the midst of the darkness,” she says.
Here’s how it works. Approach the booth, and a voice explains that you’re engaging with a free, three-minute immersive experience in your choice of English or Spanish. There’s no phone inside; rather, the “Hope Meter” appears on the booth’s screen, prompting you to rate how you’re feeling on a scale from one to five. Next, you’ll select an emotional state from a word bank of options, such as anxious, depressed, or happy.
From there, the booth’s artificial intelligence–powered technology uses those assessments to offer one of 19 experiences designed to improve your state of mind. These range from mental health boosts, such as breath work and guided hope-focused messages, to the suggestion of concrete resources like nearby food banks or addiction support. “Sometimes people just need hope for the moment,” Umanah says of the range of services. “Other times, people need lasting support as well.” When you’re finished, the Hope Meter reappears for another self-assessment.
The first booth prototype was installed at a 2021 art expo in London, followed by booths in Los Angeles, Dallas, and here in Atlanta, where her organization is headquartered. It’s now in dozens of locations worldwide, from South Korea to Uvalde, Texas. The permanent booth at Ponce City Market, installed in 2024, is the most-used installation, with more than 136,000 people having engaged with its services since it began. The organization’s data shows that users approach the Ponce City Market booth most often at lunchtime and around midnight.
In addition to offering moments of calm for passersby, it is most often used for finding resources, especially individual therapy, local shelters, and employment services. In 2025, Hope Booth launched a mobile version in partnership with Bridge of Light, a local nonprofit that offers mobile showers and laundry services.
Umanah’s nonprofit has plans to offer the Hope Booth in more languages, including Korean and American Sign Language. In time for Mental Health Awareness Month this May, it’s launched the Never Alone Community, a partnership with the dating app Hinge, which hosts free monthly gatherings to help foster connections for lonely Gen Zers and millennials. Like Hope Booths, Never Alone aims to “combat the loneliness and isolation epidemic in Atlanta,” says Umanah, who has turned her own personal low point into a hope-filled movement.
This article appears in our May 2026 issue.
