The Heartbreak Hui Announces Special Professional Convening - UNPOSTED: Grief in the Social Media Age

Written By Kekoa Rosa

Kāneʻohe, Hawaiʻi — Heartbreak Hui, sponsored by Kekuawela Partners LLC, will host a two-day professional convening titled UNPOSTED: Grief in the Social Media Age, bringing together clinicians, nonprofit leaders, advocates, researchers, and students engaged in grief-centered work across Hawaiʻi.

This single-room convening is designed to foster collective dialogue, cultural grounding, and thoughtful examination of how digital culture is reshaping grief expression, memorialization, and support systems.

The convening will take place on 10.01.26 - 10.02.26 at (Oahu, HI - Key Project). Registration is limited to 200 participants. The $120 registration fee includes two meals and refreshments. Registration open on Wednesday 07.01.26.

Convening Purpose

Grief no longer unfolds solely in private spaces. It appears in timelines, comment sections, memorial posts, viral tragedies, and digital storytelling platforms. For professionals working in mental health, advocacy, education, and community care, this shift presents new ethical, cultural, and practical challenges.

Grief in the Social Media Age creates space to examine:

  • The impact of social media on mourning behavior and identity

  • Cultural considerations within Hawaiʻi’s ʻohana systems

  • Service gaps affecting vulnerable populations, including kāne

  • Suicide, overdose, and premature loss amplified online

  • The role of artificial intelligence in grief-centered conversations

  • Practitioner sustainability in highly visible and emotionally demanding work

This convening is intended as a professional forum focused on strengthening grief-informed practice in Hawaiʻi.

Program Format

All participants will remain together in one shared room for the duration of the convening. This format prioritizes collective listening, shared language development, and cross-sector alignment.

Topics to Be Discussed

• Grief in a curated culture and digital memorialization
• ʻOhana systems and cultural realities of loss in Hawaiʻi
• Kāne, emotional containment, and help-seeking barriers
• When tragedy goes viral: media ethics and community impact
• Life after loss: integration, identity, and cultural grounding
• Artificial intelligence in grief support: access, risks, and unknowns
• System gaps and underserved grieving communities
• Practitioner sustainability and compassion fatigue

Registration opens 07.01.26
Limited to 200 participants.

Kekoa Rosa