Neighborhood advocates or vigilantes? A group in Portland makes life tougher for the homeless

Members of the Montavilla Initiative citizens group Evelyn Macpherson, left, and Jeff Church shine flashlights toward a pair of tents pitched on an embankment alongside Interstate 205 while on patrol in their neighborhood in Portland, Ore.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Montavilla Initiative Secretary Evelyn Macpherson, left, talks with homeless man Tony Whittman after giving him a pair of new socks at his tent on a multiuse path alongside a Portland MAX light rail line while on patrol in the neighborhood in Portland, Ore.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Montavilla Initiative Chairwoman Angela Todd, right, embraces homeless woman Nina Lopez, whom she met on the street while on a foot patrol with her group in Portland, Ore.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

A woman who identified herself as Sky Smart, who has been homeless for 11 years, wipes a tear as she talks about her life at a homeless camp in Portland, Ore.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Homeless man Paul Rodriguez talks with Evelyn Macpherson, a member of the Montavilla Initiative, who is helping him get his ID back after it was stolen in Portland, Ore.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Members of the Montavilla Initiative citizens group approach homeless Nina Lopez, right, and a friend while on patrol in their neighborhood in Portland, Ore.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Montavilla Initiative chairwoman Angela Todd sends a text message while on patrol along a multi-use path in a neighborhood where a homeless encampment was recently cleared in Portland, Ore.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)

Diners sit at a table in an upscale restaurant on Stark Street in the Montavilla neighborhood in Portland, Ore.  (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)