Steven Tyler opens home for abused girls
'When I said ‘Janie’s got a gun’ — she doesn’t need that gun now. Janie’s got a fund'
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Almost 30 years ago, Steven Tyler co-wrote the song "Janie's Got a Gun” for Aerosmith, hoping to raise awareness of domestic abuse against women.
After all those years, the iconic singer has gone one step further and opened Janie's House, a home in Atlanta for abused and neglected girls, a project he has been deeply involved with.
“This has been something I’ve thought about since writing ‘Janie’s Got a Gun’,” Tyler told an audience while opening the home. “I didn’t know who Janie was or why she had a gun, but the voice inside my head said keep going.
“For this place to be here and for it to be called Janie’s house, it’s just a dream come true. When I said ‘Janie’s got a gun’ — she doesn’t need that gun now. Janie’s got a fund.”
Following the speech, the singer toured the 30-room facility which was set up using money from Janie's Fund, something Tyler established back in 2015.
Speaking to CNN, Tyler said that, while in rehab many years ago, he met many women who were there partly because of struggles resulting from abuse.
"While I was in (rehab), I found out most of women in there were battered and beaten and abused verbally and sexually in huge numbers," he told the publication. "It was like seven out of 10, eight out of 10.”
The song ‘Janie's Got a Gun’ was written following time in rehab, the frontman often calling it the band’s most beautiful composition. The song’s powerful music video was directed by Oscar-Winner David Fincher and helped bring the song to a mass audience.
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