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ISSUES

MENTAL ILLNESS IS NOT A CRIME

Sheriff Sally Hernandez partnered with community organizations to:

–   Train deputies and corrections officers to identify and de-escalate mental health crisis incidents

–   Offer diversion options to arresting agencies in order to get a person suffering from a mental health crisis into treatment and not jail

–   Provide classes to friends and family of inmates suffering from mental health issues to help avoid future arrests

LEADING A PROGRESSIVE TRAVIS COUNTY JAIL​

–   Expanded face-to-face visitation and contact visits in order to keep family bonds tight and decrease recidivism

–   Expanded a Dog & Kitten 101 Program which allows inmates to foster, socialize, and train kittens and dogs that are deemed difficult to adopt

–   Implemented a system which allows transgender and gender non-conforming people to be placed in the facility in which they are most comfortable

–   Achieved PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) compliance for our jail. Travis County is 1 of 10 counties, out of 254, to achieve this compliance

BUILDING COMMUNITY TRUST

–   Led the fight against Gov. Greg Abbott’s racist immigration policies by refusing to unconstitutionally detain immigrants in the jail

–   Ended arrests related to minor possession of marijuana charges

–   Advocated for responsible, common sense gun laws so every person can feel safe

–   Encouraged deputies, corrections officers, and staff to mentor at-risk kids in order to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline

SUPPORTING SURVIVORS OF SEXUAL ASSAULT

–   Created a Sexual Assault Unit whose exclusive mission is to investigate and provide specialized care

–   Led a trained victim services staff and volunteers to assist survivors with compassion and empathy, but also notice signs of abuse that are not obvious to the untrained eye

–   Partnered with SAFE Alliance, Asian Family Support Services, UT Counseling & Mental Health Center, Texas Advocacy Project, and Texas Rio Grande Legal Services, among others, to provide survivors with services and assistance