"Barbara Sims may have been homeless, but she wasn't powerless," said Katherine Lewis Parker, an attorney with the American Civil Liberties Union of North Carolina.

Parker has been negotiating with the Orange County Sheriff's Office to change a policy after Sims and her husband Taz Herbert lost most of their possessions when deputies removed them from their camp in a field at Interstate 40 and N.C. 86 last July. Efforts to reach the Sheriff's Office for comment Friday were unsuccessful.

Parker is proposing a policy that would require deputies to notify homeless people before personal property is confiscated, and provide an opportunity for them to reclaim their belongings before any items are destroyed.

"We are so sad that Barbara didn't survive to see the policy put into effect," said Alistair Newbern, a faculty member at the UNC School of Law, who is helping Parker on the case.

"Barbara didn't have much in terms of worldly possessions," he said. "Nevertheless, she stood up for her rights and the rights of other homeless individuals in Orange County. Because of her courage, she left this world better than she found it."

Sims was killed a week ago when she was hit by a truck on Weaver Dairy Road. The accident remains under investigation. She had been hit while intoxicated crossing at the same location in December, according to a police report.

A local Christian congregation plans a memorial service for Sims at 5 p.m. today atop the Wallace Parking Deck on East Rosemary Street. For more information, call 265-4744 or visit thewellchapelhill.org.