A system and method for initiating a personal emergency response is disclosed. The method can include receiving an emergency communication via a virtual assistant, spoken by a user and an urgent situation or an emergency situation. The emergency communication can be processed to determine the nature of the emergency communication and translate the emergency communication into an emergency data message having a digital representation of information related to the emergency communication. If the emergency communication indicates an urgent situation, the system can contact an emergency contact based on stored user preferences. If the emergency communication indicates an emergency situation, then the system can aid in the dispatch of emergency services and provide information about the user to provide a measured response to the emergency communication.