You are not looking for a night person. You are looking for a specific night shape, and each shape costs you something different. Decide the shape first, then judge the people who offer it.
Local option: New Plan Care gives families in the St. Louis area in-home help so a parent can stay home: companionship, help with bathing and dressing, meals, and overnight care. Call (314) 405-0887.
The three shapes
An awake overnight helper stays up for the whole shift. They sit in a chair in the room or the hallway, and their job is to hear a call, notice a door opening, and get up. This is the most attentive version, and it is the one most families mean when they say overnight.
An on-call helper sleeps in the home, usually in a nearby room, and wakes for a call or a sound. This can give you real rest, but only if their sleep is light enough to wake quickly. Ask how they wake and what they do once they are up.
A live-in helper lives in the home for a stretch of days and works set hours. A live-in is not a free night for you. You still need time away from them, and you still need a plan for their days off.
What to check before you choose
Write down the three things that actually happen at night in your house. For many families it is a bathroom trip, a restless hour, and a door that needs watching. Your list picks the shape. If the only need is a bathroom trip around two in the morning, an on-call helper may be enough. If your parent is up and moving most of the night, you need someone awake.
Ask each candidate what they do in the first five minutes of a night call. Their answer tells you more than their years of experience. Listen for a sequence: check the parent, check the room, call you or the backup, write it down.
Ask what the night plan looks like on paper. Who do they call first, and who is second? What do they do if your parent is confused and wants to leave? What will they not lift or move without a second person? Get those answers in writing before the first night. A helper who says they will just handle it has not given you a plan.
Ask about the medicine schedule. A night helper may remind your parent when a bedtime dose is due, using a written time and a written list. They do not hand out, measure, or manage the medicine. That stays with you, the doctor, and the pharmacist. Put that line on the page too, so nobody is guessing at three in the morning.
Compare the cost of the wrong shape
An awake helper you did not need costs you money you may not have. An on-call helper who cannot hear the call costs you sleep, and then the day you were trying to protect. A live-in who is not the right fit means managing a stranger in your kitchen every night.
What it costs: The Missouri median for non-medical in-home care is $33 an hour, per the CareScout (Genworth) Cost of Care Survey 2025 state data tables, released March 2026. New Plan Care's standard rate is $34 an hour with a four-hour minimum, so a visit starts at $136 (newplancare.com/services).
Pick the shape that matches your list, then pick the person. Run the first night with someone you can reach by phone. Review it in the morning, adjust what did not work, and only then commit to a longer schedule.
You are allowed to test the first option and find out what it leaves undone. Night coverage is one of the places families most often try two or three arrangements before one holds.