Steven Tyler opens "Janie's House," a home for abused girls named after Aerosmith song
Rock star Steven Tyler is know for being the frontman of Aerosmith, but he's now focusing on a new, non-musical project: A home for girls who've been neglected or abused. Tyler opened "Janie's House" just outside of Memphis on Monday. He attended a "scarf-cutting" dedication for the house which he helped renovate, CBS Memphis station WREG reports.
Janie's House is located at Youth Villages in Bartlett, Tennessee. Youth Villages is an organization that provides support for families with emotional, mental and behavioral problems.
The house is named after Aerosmith's 1989 hit song "Janie's Got a Gun," which is about a girl who sought revenge on her abusive father, Tyler said in a video for Youth Villages. Tyler contributed about $500,000 to the charity, which helped open the second Janie's Home location, CBS Memphis reports.
"This does my heart and my soul good. This is real," Tyler said at the ceremony on Monday.
Janie's House will be home to 14 girls at a time, a total of about 26 to 30 a year, and will provide support and therapy for abuse victims.
Tyler said he visited a treatment center and realized he wanted to do something to help the abused girls he was meeting. "All the girls I met had been abused either physically, mentally, verbally, you know. At least 90 percent of them all," Tyler said, according to LocalMemphis.com.
Girls now staying at Janie's House were also at the ceremony. "The reason that I am at Janie's House is because I experienced sexual abuse at the age of 3," said one of the girls, now 14.
She said Janie's House has changed her life. "Through Janie's House, I can learn a lot about my past and learn I was not the only one that had been through the same problems," she said.
Janie's Fund, which helps raise money for these homes, has raised about $4 million. Tyler opened the first Janie's House in Atlanta in 2017.
"I'm gonna bring this Janie's Fund with me wherever I go. It's like a dream come true," Tyler said.