Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler opens home for abused women
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (WATN) – Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler was in west Tennessee Monday for the opening of Janie’s House, a home for abused and neglected girls.
Janie’s House is located on the Youth Villages Bartlett Campus just outside of Memphis. Tyler attended a “scarf-cutting” dedication to officially open the house Monday afternoon, which he helped renovate.
Tyler donated $500,000 to renovate the home at Youth Villages in Bartlett. It’s called Janie’s House after Aerosmith’s 1989 hit song “Janie’s Got A Gun.” The song is about a girl who was abused by her family.
“You guys are doing this for so many people,” said Tyler.
A small crowd made up of media, elected officials, and those with Youth Villages packed the courtyard in front of Janie’s House, a place for abused girls located on the Youth Villages Bartlett campus.
We were all there for the opening, but also to see Grammy-award winning singer Steven Tyler of Aerosmith. He donated half-a-million dollars to create Janie’s House.
“This does my heart and my soul good,” he said.
Janie’s House in Bartlett will house about 14 girls at a time and give them the support and the therapy they need to lead normal lives after being abused.
Tyler says he was in a treatment center and realized that he had to do something to help the abused girls he was meeting. He says he also realizes his hit song had real meaning.
“All the girls I met had been abused either physically, mentally, verbally, you know. At least 90 percent of ‘em all,” said Tyler.
“The reason that I am at Janie’s House is because I experienced sexual abuse at the age of three,” said JaBrayia, a Janie’s House resident.
14-year-old JaBrayia says Youth Villages and 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.”
“I’m gonna bring this Janie’s fund with me wherever I go. It’s like a dream come true,” said Tyler.
Janie’s Fund has raised about $4 million. This is the second Janie’s House Steven Tyler has opened. The first opened in Atlanta in 2017.