Our founder
She met a girl at a motorcycle rally, and never found her again.
Becky Rasmussen founded Call to Freedom in 2016. The organisation exists because of one encounter that did not end well.
Sturgis, August 2015
Marissa went missing before anyone could reach her.
She was never formally identified. Never connected with resources. That is the gap this organisation was built to close.
Becky was conducting outreach to vulnerable individuals at the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally when she met a young woman named Marissa. Marissa appeared to be a victim of human trafficking.
Then she was gone.
“I didn’t realise what God was doing in that moment,” Becky says. The supportive housing site carries Marissa’s name, because it was built so the next person would not disappear in the space between being seen and being helped.
What happened next
From one encounter to sixty-one counties.
Ten years. Every step below came from someone saying what was still missing.
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2015
Sturgis
Becky meets Marissa while doing outreach at the rally. Marissa goes missing before she can be identified or connected with help.
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2016
The doors open
Call to Freedom receives 501(c)(3) approval and begins, founded to ensure everyone impacted by trafficking is identified and connected with lifesaving resources. Marissa’s House opens with seven efficiency apartments.
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2017
The first full-time hire
The first full-time staff member joins. Marissa’s House is at or over capacity for the whole year.
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2018
Prevention begins
Prevention education starts going into South Dakota schools and youth programmes, running alongside the direct services rather than instead of them.
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2020 – 2021
The expansion is funded
Land is secured for a larger Marissa’s House, and the campaign launches. The mission widens to address commercial sexual exploitation alongside trafficking.
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2022
Mothers and children, together
Marissa’s House reopens at a safer location with capacity for 36. For the first time, mothers can be reunified with their children without leaving support behind.
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2023
National accreditation
Marissa’s House receives national accreditation from the Safe House Project.
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Today
Nearly thirty people
A residential facility, a survivor-informed Continuum of Care Model examined in the research literature, and a team drawn from social work, juvenile justice, addiction recovery and crisis intervention.
In her own words
Three things Becky says often.
She has been saying the first one for ten years.
After my encounter with Marissa, I had a discussion with the woman who was running Call to Freedom at the time. She told me, “I feel like God is calling me to transition Call to Freedom to you.”
On how it beganThe first 72 hours after a survivor is identified are critical. If we can’t meet their basic needs, safety, shelter, food, they may return to dangerous places just to survive. This window is our chance to help them step out of survival mode and take their first steps toward healing.
On why speed mattersWhen the community acknowledges that human trafficking exists in South Dakota, and people actively support efforts to fight it, it creates real momentum for change. This not only drives action but also reassures survivors that their experiences are believed. That belief fosters a safer, more supportive environment for others to come forward.
On why awareness is not a soft objectiveBooking Becky
She still speaks, most weeks.
To businesses, congregations, conferences and professional groups, about trafficking in South Dakota and what an effective response actually requires.
For journalists
Interviews and background.
The press kit has the organisation in brief, our boundaries on survivor privacy, and guidance on language that makes coverage less harmful.
One encounter, and nobody found her again.
Marissa's House exists so that the next person does not disappear between being seen and being helped.