I'm in favor of direct cash giving, I donate to GiveDirectly. I don't know much about homelessness in New York, but in San Francisco a large majority of people who experience homeless will do so in a temporary way. I'm in favor of direct cash giving to them too.
I'm more skeptical of the efficacy of cash for the chronically homeless, who often suffer from debilitating conditions like profound schizophrenia that intuitively one would think would need to be treated first. I say this with compassion, I live at the edge of the tenderloin and have a number of neighbors who are homeless and ill. That said, intuition is one thing and experimental results are another. I think it's an experiment that should be tried, and if a donor wants to do it I'm disappointed in an organization that would get in the way.
I'm more skeptical of the efficacy of cash for the chronically homeless, who often suffer from debilitating conditions like profound schizophrenia that intuitively one would think would need to be treated first. I say this with compassion, I live at the edge of the tenderloin and have a number of neighbors who are homeless and ill. That said, intuition is one thing and experimental results are another. I think it's an experiment that should be tried, and if a donor wants to do it I'm disappointed in an organization that would get in the way.