'Monkey' Warden's business card says 'health and wellness advocate.' He prefers 'servant.'

By BERRY CRAIG

AFT Local 1360

"Monkey" Warden spends Wednesday nights getting his little group "out of our heads and into our hearts.”

"Everybody has certain issues," explained the Louisville Ironworker. "We've got people in here for depression, addiction, anger management--all kinds of different situations, parts of their life they feel they don't have control of. When an individual comes in, the first thing we do is get to common ground so they can realize that we are all in life together and that, in turn, allows you to feel that you are a part of something greater."

Warden, 37, a 10-year member of Local 70 in the Derby City, started the support group nearly two years ago. His first name is Christopher, but he goes by "Monkey." "We’ve got 500 members in our local," he said with a chuckle. "But only about 20 know my first name.”

He has a business card that IDs him as a “health and wellness advocate.” But he doesn’t go by the that; "servant" works better for him.

His group doesn't have an official name. Members, who attend voluntarily, don't have to tell their names.

"It's not so much of a process as it is just an open environment. We’re all in the pursuit of happiness—money, property, prestige all the way down to drugs and alcohol. That's just quick fix to make us feel better.

“Instant gratification never works, and most people that have depression issues or drug and alcohol problems are always seeking that instant gratification."

Warden's goal is for group members to talk freely and nonjudgmentally and come to “understand the fact that what appears to be the easier way or the softer way really isn’t. When you lose the concept of instant gratification, you grow. We learn that from each other. That’s the whole ‘out of your head and into your heart.’” 

He isn’t a trained counselor, so he's quick to let attendees know where they can get professional help, including suicide prevention. Warden's brother took his own life, which he said helped motivate him to start his group.

“I have multiple resources. Rehabs, Alcoholics Anonymous. I speak to a lot of mental health people. I recently went through a program titled ‘Safe Talk’ about helping talk people out of suicide. I have information on that. We may even bring that class to this hall.”    

He said that typically 6 to 10 of his fellow Ironworkers show up for his midweek evening gatherings at the hall, 2429 Crittenden Dr. "We're supposed to meet from 7 to 8 but we usually go to 10." 

The same members don't attend the meetings. Each first-timers get a commitment chip. So far, Warden has handed out 45. "It's not necessarily like Alcoholics Anonymous, but it means you make a commitment to yourself to be willing to change."  

He reminds the local about the meetings every Wednesday morning by sending out a video text message. "I don't want them to think I'm telling them they've got problems," Warden said. He asks his brothers and sisters to help spread the word, so interested members can join the group. 

He also plugs the gatherings at the local's monthly union meetings. The group, he said, is open to all union Ironworkers, not just local 70 members. "I'm not for anything other than helping, but expansion would be great,” Warden said.  

He would be happy to speak with other union locals about his program. "If I've got to go somewhere to talk, I'm willing to do anything."

"Monkey" Warden's group reflects "solidarity," that old union byword. "When you get out of your head into your heart, you come to a deeper realization that each individual is like a cell in a body. We are a body of humans; that's how the whole human race is supposed to work."

Unions work that way, too.