A local circle is the group of people near your parent who can show up when you cannot: a neighbor, a friend from church, a relative across town, a paid helper for a few hours a week. The question is not how many people you can find. The question is how many people your parent's actual day requires, and whether each of them can cover the hours they are given.
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.
Map her day in blocks
Draw a simple day on paper with four blocks: morning, midday, evening, and overnight. For each block, write what she does and whether she is alone. Be specific. A morning block might include getting out of bed, bathing, and making breakfast. An overnight block might include getting up to use the bathroom. Most families find the gaps are not where they expected, usually at the edges of the day or the night.
Check the house against the day
The layout sets the work. Note where the bathroom is, whether there are stairs between the bedroom and the kitchen, whether the front steps need a hand, and which rooms she avoids. A house where she sleeps on the main floor and uses the bathroom down the hall needs a different plan from one where the bedroom is upstairs. Write down the things she has stopped doing, because those are often the early signs of a gap.
Match each person to a block, not to a promise
Ask each person which hours they can actually cover, not which hours they would like to help with. Ask whether they can drive her, whether they can be reached on a weekday during work, and who covers for them when they are sick. A neighbor who is home all day is different from a neighbor who is home only on weekends. Two people who each cover half a morning often leave the same gap as one person who covers none.
Compare the options by coverage, not by feeling
Set the blocks side by side with the people you have. Count which blocks have a named person, which have a named backup, and which have nobody. Then decide what you can fill and what you need to pay someone else to fill, or whether the gap is small enough to accept for now. The St. Louis Local Help page can help you think about the types of support available in the area as you fill the blocks.
What to do tonight
Draw the four blocks and write one line for each: what she does, who is with her now, and who could be. Circle the blocks with nobody in them. Pick the one gap you can close first, and send one specific request to one specific person, with the hours written out.
What to leave with the doctor
Bring the list of hours she is alone, the stairs or steps she uses, and any changes in how she walks, bathes, or gets to the toilet at night. Ask the doctor which of those changes matter most for the plan and which should be reported right away.