A friend told David Ellis to take a drive through the tent city that’s sprouted around West 13th Street and Lincoln Avenue, to see firsthand the extent of homelessness in Vancouver.

What he saw downtown made him feel like helping, and so Ellis has been among the groups of armed volunteers patrolling the camp at night the past two weekends.

“I felt emotional about it,” said Ellis, who lives just outside of Vancouver. “You or I, even if we fell on hard times, maybe we have family to fall upon, too. But these guys don’t have anything; that’s why they’re here.”

Groups of volunteers have been patrolling the streets around the camp in an effort to help offer its residents a sense of security overnight. Some of these volunteer guards, Ellis among them, have been armed, alarming some neighbors, city officials and homeless advocates.

What happens next is in doubt. The weather took a nasty turn over the weekend, the city plans to start enforcing its camping ordinance Monday, and more shelter beds are opening, in theory nearly enough to accommodate all of the neighborhood campers.