Marilyn Núñez doesn't know how she does it. Along with her husband, this Dominican mother earns around $22,000 a year and has to support five children. "It's not easy," said Núñez, who lives in South Williamsburg and works as a home health aide for the elderly. Her husband does carpentry and takes on odd jobs.

Not too long ago, the Núñez family, who is among the 12.4 million low-income Latinos in the United States, depended on government aid to survive. However, Núñez asserted that the government recently took away their food stamps, because someone else used her husband's name to claim them. "This has affected us greatly," said the petite woman of 39.

The Census Bureau data released yesterday shows that 43.6 million people in the United States were living in poverty in 2009. This represents a median of 14.3 percent nationally, or simply stated one in 7 Americans lives in poverty.

For Latinos in particular, that number increased from 23.2 percent to 25.3 percent, meaning that one in four Latinos is poor.

In New York, the Census revealed that 18.2 percent of families, or approximately 1.5 million people, are living below the poverty line.

When asked if she "feels poor," Núñez replied, "One doesn't earn much." Núñez earns $200 a week. Her older children are 20, 15, and 8. Her youngest children, a pair of twins, are 4. She thinks that earning $22,000 annually is a lot compared to what she would earn in the Dominican Republic.

However, she pointed out that the cost of living is higher in New York, especially in Williamsburg, where rent and the price of food have gone up over the last decade, along with the construction of condominiums and the influx of affluent residents from Manhattan.

To survive, the Núñez family had to send one of their children to live in the Dominican Republic.

According to the Census, poverty rose consecutively for the third year in 2009. In 2008, 13.2 percent of the population, or 39.8 million people, were living in poverty.

At a press conference organized by Community Voices Heard, which included presenting a video of ordinary New Yorkers openly discussing poverty, the Harlem-based organization assured that while the growing number of low-income families is unsettling, "the burden of poverty is intensified for minority communities."

Sandra Killett, a low-income New Yorker and a member of the organization, maintained that the economic crisis began long before the collapse of financial institutions. "In cities across America, we have always faced a crisis. We have always been struggling and suffering from unemployment. People are only paying attention now because corporations and large businesses have been affected," she opined.