The Merewether 23-year-old was one of 10 people selected from a national pool of 200 to present her idea at the Optus Future Makers Pitch Day in Sydney last week.

Ms Harnett, who is the Samaritans communications officer in Newcastle, successfully pitched her idea to an experienced judging panel.

“The Future Makers journey has been amazing,” Ms Harnett said. 

“Not only have I had the opportunity to win $50,000 in funding but the whole process has really helped me grow as a person.

“The networking and mentoring opportunities offered by Optus are something I never thought I’d be able to be a part of coming from the not-­for­-profit world.”

Each finalist had just three minutes to make their pitch.

Ms Harnett said the iWareness app would be “a 24/7 resource that young people can access discretely, privately and safely” to access services in their area.

“It’s designed to empower young people to reach out and seek that help that they need around domestic violence,” she said.

Features include an inspiration page with real-life stories “so victims no longer feel alone, empowering them to reach out for help”.

Seeing first-hand youth affected by domestic violence helped inspire the Samaritans idea presented by Ms Harnett.

“One thing that inspired me to pursue this journey with the app was meeting a girl who currently lives in Samaritans accommodation,” she said. “Growing up she experienced abuse, she lived in an abusive home and she spent years suffering.

“Her story really struck a chord with me and I thought how can we help make life easier for these young people and help them reach out for that help sooner rather than suffering for years.”

The experience has also sparked an interest in Ms Harnett to pursue other community projects in the future.

“It made me realise I can create social impact,” she said.

The Samaritans are using the $50,000 to source an app designer and hope to have the iWareness app in operation by the end of the year.