San Francisco Chronicle - The Voice of the West, 901 Mission Street, San Francisco, CA 94119 - MONDAY December 17, 1990 Edition: FINAL Section: NEWS Page: A5 Word Count: 629
David Tuller, Chronicle Staff Writer

This is the sixth year that the Tenderloin newspaper has conducted the study and the third year in a row that the number of deaths of homeless people reported has topped 100. In 1989, the newspaper's survey reported 110 such deaths.

The number of women among the total rose from 10 in 1989 to 17 in 1990. The total suffering from HIV infection or AIDS increased from three to 13.

As in previous years, most of the deaths were of white men in their 30s who succumbed in alleyways, emergency shelters, hospitals and parks. The study found that alcohol or drugs were a major factor in 43 percent of the deaths and that some of those who died from other factors also had had a history of alcoholism.

Other leading causes of death included heart disease (11 percent), homicide (8 percent) and lung disease, liver ailments and suicide (6 percent each). Thirty-three of the deaths have occurred since July, when the city opened its widely publicized "multiservice centers" to address the homeless situation.

The information on the deaths was culled from records at the San Francisco coroner's office and the Pacific Interment Service, an agency that disposes of the remains of homeless or indigent residents, and from interviews with staff at emergency shelters and other facilities.

According to Sara Colm, editor of the Tenderloin Times, the estimated number of deaths is "a conservative figure." She said, for example, that some of those who die on the streets may have an old identification card with a former address in their pockets and may therefore not be officially counted by the city as homeless.

Homebase, an advocacy organization, estimates that there are more than 23,000 homeless people in San Francisco. Other estimates place the figure at no more than 6,000.

Homeless advocates say that one factor behind the alcohol-related deaths is the lack of a drop-in program for street alcoholics. The programs that are available for homeless alcoholics generally require them to quit cold turkey, said Colm.

"The idea of three days on a mat (without alcohol) is something that hard-core street alcoholics just feel they can't go through," Colm said.

In addition to calling for the opening of a 24-hour drop-in center for alcoholics, homeless advocates are seeking a comprehensive public health program to reduce the number of homeless deaths and the creation of a permanent memorial to homeless people who have died in San Francisco.

The study looked at the homeless deaths that occurred between Dec. 1, 1989, and Nov. 30, 1990. Among those profiled:

-- Richard Sorter, 57, was found dead beneath the Clay Street on-ramp of Highway 480. He died of cardiovascular disease and had a history of alcohol abuse.

-- Enrique Estrada, 29, was stabbed to death two hours after being released from detainment at Mission Police Station for public drunkenness.

-- Donna Conklin, 58, was found in the doorway of 749 Larkin Street after spending the night there with a friend. The cause of death was cardiovascular disease.

-- Christopher Berry, 18, was hit by a taxi while riding his bike at Divisadero and Page streets. Berry, one of two 18-year-olds to die homeless, had arrived in San Francisco from the Midwest several months before he died and was living in a homeless youth shelter.

-- Jimmy Burks, 46, who was found in his hotel room. Burks, an amputee who died of acute morphine poisoning, was last seen the previous afternoon panhandling and scavenging through garbage cans.

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