SANTA MONICA, Calif. — Mia St. John dominated the sport of boxing for over a decade. Now she’s giving lessons to students at Step Up on Second, a Santa Monica shelter focusing on mental health and homelessness.

St. John became a major advocate for mental health awareness after her son Julian, who suffered from schizophrenia, died from suicide in 2014. Then earlier this year, her ex-husband, actor Kristoff St. John, died of an overdose just after leaving a mental health facility.

“I was devastated for weeks, and the weeks were turning into months, and I realized that I’ve got to pick myself back up for my ex-husband, for Kristoff, and for my son Julian, and for my daughter who’s still here,” St. John said.

Today, she finds healing through meditation by the water and through her foundation. She offers classes to the homeless and those suffering from mental illness—not just in boxing but in yoga and more.

“These guys and gals at Step Up, they give me so much purpose, to have a reason to go on in the name of my son and his father,” she said.

“When I first saw there was a boxing group from a five-time world champion boxer, I was like, 'Wait what,'” said Andrew, one of St. John's students. “This is amazing, and it’s been a huge thing for me.”

But it’s also been an active therapy for St. John, who now has a message to the world about mental health awareness and suicide prevention. 

“We don’t know what mental illness is as a society, right? If you ask someone on the streets what is schizophrenia, how many are going to know? I’ve gotten so many different answers,” she said. 

It’s why she is on a mission to inform as many as possible to help prevent other families from dealing with the same pain she’s had to endure for the last five years.