Steven Tyler Opens 'Janie's House' Shelter for Abused Young Women: It's 'Just a Dream Come True'

Mariah Haas
Updated
Steven Tyler Opens a Home for Abused Young Women

Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler wrote the hit “Janie’s Got a Gun” 28 years ago, but he always knew he wanted to help girls in need.

Now, the singer is opening Janie’s House, a home for abused young women, located just outside of Atlanta, Georgia.

STEVEN'S IN THE MIX AND JANIE'S IN THE HOUSE!!! IVE NEVER WRITTEN A SONG AS BEAUTIFUL AS JANIE'S HOUSE...THIS WAS TWO YEARS IN THE MAKING!! SPENDING THE DAY WITH THESE GIRLS...IM JUST SO PROUD OF THEM! I'M JUST RELIEVED THEY HAVE A SAFE SPACE TO BE WHO THEY ARE...TO GROW INTO AMAZING YOUNG WOMEN WHO WILL DO GREAT THINGS IN THE WORLD... #JANIESGOTAFUND AND DONATIONS ARE EASY...START AND SHARE HERE: JANIESFUND.ORG/GIVE

A post shared by Steven Tyler (@iamstevent) on Dec 7, 2017 at 6:43pm PST

Tyler attended the ribbon cutting on Wednesday for the facility, which took years to bring to fruition.

“This has been something I thought about since I wrote ‘Janie’s Got A Gun’—and didn’t know why,” says Tyler. “I didn’t know who Janie was or why she had a gun, and the voice inside my head said, ‘Keep going with this and fill in the blanks.’”

He adds: “For this place to be here and have it be called Janie’s House is just a dream come true. When I said ‘Janie’s Got a Gun’ and … said ‘No. No. No. Janie’s Got a Fund.’ I lost my mind.”

Ever since Tyler partnered with the nonprofit Youth Villages to start Janie’s Fund two years ago, the foundation has funded over 56,000 days of care for young women, assisted 1,300 teens aging out of the foster care system, and sponsored several programs that uplift and inspire abused women, according to the organization.