MEMPHIS, TN (CelebrityAccess) — Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler was on hand in Memphis on Monday for a ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the opening of Janie’s House, a refuge for abused and neglected girls.
According to the Memphis Commercial Appeal, Tyler’s foundation, Janie’s Fund, provided about $500,000 to renovate the property, which houses about 14 girls at a time on a campus in Bartlett.
The home will become the second Janie’s House within Youth Villages and will be operated with public funding through Youth Villages, a non-profit that provides help for children and young people across the United States who face a wide range of emotional, mental and behavioral problems.
Tyler said he was inspired to launch Janie’s Fund after meeting with multiple women who had been victims of abuse while he was in treatment for his own substance abuse issues.
“All the girls I met had been abused either physically, mentally, verbally, you know. At least 90% of ‘em all,” Tyler said during the ceremony, according to the Commercial Appeal.
To date, Janie’s Fund has raised approximately $4 million and the Memphis house will be the second such facility to be funded by the organization after the first Janie’s House opened 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 during the ribbon cutting.
