Joan Freeman (politician)

Joan Freeman
Senator
In office 8 June 2016 – 29 June 2020
Constituency	Nominated by the Taoiseach
Personal details
Born	Joan Lowe (1958-04-02)2 April 1958 Dublin,Ireland
Political party	Independent
Spouse	Patrick Freeman ​ (m.1982)​
Children	4
Relatives	Theresa Lowe(sister) Maria Steen(niece)
Alma mater	Open University

Joan Freeman(néeLowe;born 2 April 1958) is an Irish psychologist, mental health activist and anIndependentpolitician who served as aSenatorfrom 2016 to 2020, after beingnominatedby the thenTaoiseach,Enda Kenny.She is the founder of Pieta House, a national mental health services charity. She resigned from Pieta House in 2014. She was an unsuccessful candidate in the2018 presidential election.

Pieta House

Freeman is the founder of Pieta House, a suicide intervention charity established in 2006 inLucan,County Dublin. Since 2006, Pieta House has established twelve additional centres across Ireland with almost 270 therapists and administration staff, providing free therapeutic services to over 30,000 people.In 2008, Freeman founded the annual fund-raising eventDarkness into Lightin aid of Pieta House. Begun with 400 participants, approximately 200,000 people participated in the May 2018 recent iteration of the event.The 5 km walk took place across 180 venues worldwide. Then TaoiseachLeo Varadkarwas among the 15,000 people who undertook the walk in Dublin'sPhoenix Park.

Freeman resigned from Pieta House in 2014, in order to concentrate on developing Solace House, a similar charity based inNew York Citylaunched in 2015.The service was initially created to serve the Irish diaspora in New York, but has since supported and counselled people from many different nationalities.

Political career

In 2016, Freeman was nominated by then Taoiseach,Enda Kenny,as a member ofSeanad Éireann.She helped form, and now chairs, Ireland's first Committee on the Future of Mental Healthcare.She is also a member of the Joint Committee on Children and Youth Affairs. She is a former member of the Council for Justice and Peace of theIrish Catholic Bishops' Conference,at one time speaking to raise awareness on suicide prevention training programmes provided by Pieta House.

Freeman received the nomination of four councils required to be a candidate in the2018 presidential election.The incumbent PresidentMichael D. Higginswas running for re-election and an election was held on 26 October 2018.

The Timesdescribed Freeman as having "strong family links with the anti-abortion movement".Her sister,Theresa Lowe,and her niece,Maria Steen,argued for a No vote in thereferendum to repeal the Eighth Amendmenton televised debates onRTÉandTV3.Steen is a member of theIona Institute.Freeman had said that although she voted No in the referendum, she "would be happy to carry the voice of the people and sign resulting legislation into law as president" and noted her daughter's involvement in the Yes campaign.IndependentTDMattie McGrathwill support Freeman if she runs, stating that "a good Catholic president would be refreshing".If elected, Freeman had said she would have set up a "National Assembly of Well-being".

During the campaign, theIrish Independentreported on a speech by Freeman in which she claimed that hereczemahad been miraculously cured following a visit toKnock Shrinewhen she was a teenager.

Personal life

Freeman is a native of Dublin. The sixth of the eight children of Marie and John Lowe, she lived inWarwickshire,England,where her parents moved when she was a baby. Her family returned to Dublin when she was 12, and her father took up a job managing his brother's pub, The Sword, onCamden Street.

She is married to Patrick Freeman and has four children.She holds a degree and MA in psychology. In June 2018, Freeman received the Trailblazer Award from the Women's Executive Network, Ireland.In 2019,Trinity College Dublinawarded her with an honorary doctorate.