Tyler holds ‘scarf-cutting’ event for Janie’s House
Steven Tyler has dozens of musicrelated accolades, including a spot in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as the frontman of the famous rock band Aerosmith. But Janie’s House? “This is real.” “This does my heart and soul good,” Tyler said Monday moments before cutting the ribbon — which was actually a long scarf attached to microphone stands, in true Tyler fashion — on Janie’s House, a project between Tyler and Youth Villages to renovate a home for girls who have suffered abuse or neglect.
Janie’s Fund, housed within Youth Villages, has raised over $4 million, much of which goes toward helping girls as they age out of the foster system.
Tyler was in Bartlett for the scarfcutting ceremony on the second Janie’s House. The first is in Atlanta.
The home can hold about 14 girls at a time, and features bright paint on the walls with inspirational quotes from Tyler, including the song lyrics from “Dream On.”
It cost about $500,000 to renovate the home, which sits on Youth Villages 80-acre property in Bartlett. Girls living in the home can receive treatment for mental health issues, including trauma and addiction.
Inspiration from ‘Janie’s Got a Gun’
The fund’s name was born out of the fictional Janie from Tyler’s song “Janie’s Got a Gun.” Unlike many of his songs or the videos that go with them, Tyler said Monday, Janie’s song is literal. It depicts a girl abused by her father, and became an anthem of sorts for victims of abuse after its release in 1989.
Tyler told the story of the song’s origin Monday, explaining how the music came to him before the lyrics. And in between, he had to deal with his own addition problem.
“As you can only imagine, being in a band with guys for 50 years, you can have problems,” Tyler said. “And rather than quit, I decided to go to this treatment center for co-dependency.”
While in treatment, he noticed nearly all the women present had at some point been abused, emotionally or