Franklin D. Roosevelt's New Deal policy was vastly different than Hoover's policies towards the Great Depression. Herbert Hoover was a firm believer in laissez faire economics. This meant that the government should get involved as little as possible in terms of the economy. This is why he only funded a few public works projects that helped reduce unemployment. However, these temporary programs did not cause much change.
FDR, on the other hand, believed the federal government needed to be very involved in order to fix this economic situation. FDR created over a dozen programs that resulted in direct economic assistance to American citizens and programs that exist to this day (such as Social Security and the Securities and Exchange Commission).