Career change after a layoff, where to begin? - any advice?

I want to move from hotel front-desk agent to something with more stability. I have read a lot of threads here and could not find my exact situation. My family is supportive but nervous. Has anyone made a similar move?

Thanks for writing this out. I went through something close to it 3 months ago, and it settled down once I kept a simple log of every call and form.