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
