Think of different types of support, eg who offers you emotional support and is someone to talk to that you can be totally open with, who is around for the last minute need help with the kids type support, who might help with planned babysitting, who will take you out for coffee and help you relax and have fun.
Having people close by is important, so is having a wider support network. Best in mind that your relationships will change with the addition of children, you’ll make new friends and in my experience the people I thought would be great haven’t been as supportive as I thought the would be.
Try not to go into it expecting it to be stressful, parts of it can be but really it’s a set of processes to get through. SW don’t set out to make life difficult but they need to be thorough and, as in every walk of life, some are better than others. Build a good relationship with your SW, they’ll be in your life for a while and even if you don’t agree with them it’s easier to challenge or explore differences from the place of a positive relationship.
Remember this process is about finding parents for children, not about finding children for parents. Simply put, the child’s needs should always be paramount in the process and that can feel hard but it’s thst way for a reason, your assessment will continuously focus on what “X” might mean for children who are placed with you.
Last of all remember we are all human, we all have life events, health issues etc to consider - it doesn’t mean you can’t adopt, it does mean you need to deal with your own stuff. My assessment took place over the most difficult 3 years of my life, literally everything that could go wrong, did. And yet here I am with two beautiful DC and a fairly normal family life.