Click on image to start slideshow.

It was still dark when members of the Ballard High School SLAM club arrived at Ballard High School this morning to chalk messages of acceptance on the pavement.

But with enthusiasm the students got to work, writing messages like "All kids are important", "SLAM loves you", "Peace, Love, Acceptance", and even some David Bowie song lyrics from "Rock 'n' Roll suicide" on the school grounds,

The SLAM students were participating in the You-Are-Loved Chalk Message Project, a nationwide suicide-prevention awareness project that combats hateful rhetoric toward the LGBTQ community through the use of positive, uplifting chalk messages.

SLAM, which stands for Student Lives Always Matter, is Ballard's suicide prevention club. It was started by the friends of Maren DeVries, a student who committed suicide by jumping off the Aurora bridge in 2006. The club spends its time doing educational outreach to help students who need it and to let students know how to help their friends.

"Suicide is four to eight times more common in to nine times more common in LGBTQ youth," said Paul Barry, mental health therapist at the Ballard High School Teen Health Center, "This event is a really big deal for us as SLAM's goal is to prevent suicide."

SLAM started to participate in the national chalk project last year when the media was filled with multiple high-profile stories of American students committing suicide after enduring harassment from their peers for their perceived sexual identify.

"The national project is normally done on university campuses but Barry has been doing a great job at the school and so I contacted him last year and asked him if he would be interested," said Heather Carter, LGBTQ OUTLoud project coordinator for the Youth Suicide Prevention Program. "Public schools are suppose to be safe places for everyone and Ballard HIgh School does a really good job."

Barry said on a national level approximately 1 in 10 people identifies as LGBTQ, which would mean there could be around 170 LGBTQ students at the school.

And while Ballard High School has an active Gay Straight Alliance club, Barry said he thinks it is important for kids who don't identify themselves as gay to write these messages.

"I think it's really important that everyone understands that [suicide] happens and what goes on with the LGBTQ student population," said student Lynn Sorensen. "These messages really help. We got a lot of feedback last year. Many stopped and asked about them and then told their friends."

In addition to the chalk messages, SLAM covered the school halls with posters so that when the rain washes away the chalk. the positive messages continue to surround the students at Ballard High School.

"It's so striking. Everyone notices it," said Barry. "It's a great organizing tool for SLAM. They have great energy for helping kids. Teenagers get a lot of negative publicity but young people really care about each other."